A Child of Rome
by Dantikat
Summary: When a demigod shows up at the borders of Camp Half-Blood, Benjamin King, a pacifistic son of Ares, and Percy Jackson are the ones there to intercept her, and the horde of Hellhounds chasing her. Now, three demigods, Ben, Leah Vasquez, and Edwin Jarrett are on a quest for Leah; to return what was taken from her.
1. Chapter 1

**Bet you weren't expecting this, huh?**

 **I'll keep it short. I noticed that for each of the Big Three in the series, there are two children: One Greek and One Roman. In Poseidon's case, however, that isn't true. Percy is his only Demigod child, and he's Greek.**

 **I was wondering what a Roman child of Neptune would be like, and this story was born from it. I'll be updating this whenever I can, so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **BENJAMIN K.**

* * *

 **"Man, sentry duty at night stinks," Percy said, a tinge of melancholy in his voice.** "Nothing ever happens this late, we just sit and watch nothing."

Benjamin, who was sitting a few feet away, legs crossed and arms resting against his stomach with his back against a tree, sighed. "I like watching the sky at night. You can't see the stars as well as you could back home, but it's relaxing."

Benjamin, or Ben as everyone called him, was a son of Ares. Usually, Percy didn't get along with children of the War God. Frank had been a pleasant exception, and now Ben followed in his footsteps.

He was tall, nearly six feet, with biceps the size of pro footballs, and had dark, tanned, skin, a shade or so darker than milk chocolate. His hair was black, cut low into a simple crew cut, reminiscent of his father, and his eyes were covered by dark, golden-rimmed, Aviator shades. Percy had only actually seen his eyes once or twice, as Ben didn't like taking his shades off. Even now, at night, he still wore them.

Like Percy, he was wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, and a necklace of beads around his neck with four beads on it. Whereas Percy wore simple blue jeans and sneakers, Ben went for tan cargo pants and boots. Both of them wore simple leather armor, reinforced with Celestial Bronze, and both opted out of wearing helmets. Hanging across Ben's chest, was a simple satchel bag, filled with emergency supplies and a book of Sudoku puzzles.

His sword was in the grass beside him, laying against the ground where he could easily pick it up if he had to. Despite that, though, Percy knew he probably wouldn't. Ben was a pacifist, after all.

Sighing, Percy sat down against a tree next to Ben's. Riptide was stashed away in his pocket, as usual.

"I wouldn't know. Being born and raised here, I've never seen too much of the stars. Even on the Argo II, I never really caught them." He replied. Ben nodded along, turning his head slightly in Percy's direction to hide what a glimpse of his eyes could be.

"That's fair. Maybe you should take night sentry duty more often. I could teach you how to meditate, maybe, and you could feel how calming it is." Ben said, smiling. His voice was deep, sorta like off-road motorcycle tires trembling against the ground. Given that, though, it was full of mirth. He was a happy guy, Ben.

Percy chuckled. "Maybe I should. You take it all the time, right?" He asked. Ben nodded and crossed his legs, meditation style.

"It's a good time to clear my head if I need to. Other than that, though, I just enjoy the quiet." He replied. Percy leaned back against the tree, shutting his eyes.

"Yea, maybe I could get behind that...," He dozed off a little, and Ben returned to looking out across Camp Half-Blood's main entrance. Nothing would happen, as nothing ever did happen, but he enjoyed talking with Percy when he could. Taking a deep breath, Ben shut his eyes and clasped his hands together, the way he always did when he began meditating.

Normally, people say that meditation is an uplifting sensation. Being a Half-Blood, it was even more exhilarating for Ben. Meditation for him drew the line between consciousness and sleep, and he could sometimes induce visions if he tried hard enough. Those visions were like the dreams that Percy had always told him about, as Ben had never had them himself, though they were a lot more tranquil.

Now, though, he didn't induce one. Instead, he opened his senses to the forest behind him. Thalia's tree was a few feet away, birds flocking away against it and in it's branches. There were lizards, snakes, and frogs all behind him, as well as the occasional tree nymph dashing out on an errand or so. Everything was calm, and nothing seemed to be happening. Tonight would be just as any other...

The pounding of hooves on the ground became immediately clear in the back of Ben's head.

His eyes shot open, and he wasn't surprised to notice that, even while he wasn't focusing on it, he could still hear it. Despite the fact that he really didn't want to, Ben grabbed the handle of his sword and got to his feet. Percy stirred next to him, but he didn't wake up. That much was to be expected. Percy was a pretty deep sleeper, as Annabeth had often told him.

The horse, or what Ben assumed was a horse, was getting closer. Standing now, his sword in hand, Ben shut his eyes once more in an attempt to broaden his senses once more. It worked, though only for a moment, and he caught a glimpse of a figure.

Most definitely a horse, it had a dark brown coat with vanilla coating around it's mouth, at the ends of each of its legs, and at the end of it's tail and mane. Taking a closer look, or as much as he could, Ben saw that this horse had clearly gone through some rough times recently. There were scrapes and scars across it's dark body, dried blood staining it's fur. Live embers still burned away in the horse's tail, and it's mane, though that didn't deter the creature from running it's heart out.

On the horse's back, it's rider wasn't fairing much better. A female, or Ben presumed it was anyway, was almost slumped completely against the horse's neck. She was wearing jeans, tall black boots and a short-sleeved back shirt. Her hair, tied back into a long braid, flowed out behind her as the horse ran on. Like the horse, her body was riddled with scars. Her arms, dark and covered in soot and dirt, were scratched and bleeding. A long, deep gash across her forehead bled profusely, blood dripping down her face and falling off from her chin.

He couldn't see much behind the horse, but it looked as if it was running from something. In the lives of Half-bloods, they usually were running from something, and Ben had long since assumed this girl would be a half-blood; It was the only possible explanation.

Ben fell back into his own senses and he started forward, before remembering Percy next to him. How handy it was to have someone who could talk to horses. Kneeling down in front of Percy, Ben shook him awake. Percy stumbled and sputtered for a bit before standing up. He yawned.

"Wha..What is it.., Ben?" He asked, clearly still tired. With his sword still in hand, Ben stepped up onto the apex of Half-blood hill. Down the hill and across Long Island Sound, barreling toward them, was the horse and it's lone rider.

"That. Someone is in need of help, it seems," Ben replied calmly. Using his sword, he pointed behind the horse, where a horde of hellhounds were closing in on the horse. "What do we do?"

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out his pen, which almost immediately extended out into a sword. Percy was armed and ready. On his face, there was a sudden look of intense focus and thought.

"Now," Percy took a step forward, and Ben felt a rumbling in the ground beneath his feet. Glancing down at the ground, then at Percy, he took a step back. "We save a life."

A tidal wave, a sixty-foot wall of water, suddenly rose out from behind the trees, towering over both the horse and it's assailants. The horse moved on, and the wave crashed into the main force of hellhounds. Some of them were pushed and crashed into the thick trunks of more trees, disintegrating on hit. Most of the forces, however, kept chasing. This, was when Percy and Ben jumped into the fight.

Percy, Riptide in hand, crashed into the middle of the crowd, slashing out in a wide arc as he did. Ben stood in front of the forces, his sword in one hand, with his arms out wide. Despite his usual pacifism, Ben was an excellent fighter, and his rules often times did not apply to monsters. As the first hellhound reached him, Ben struck with his sword, rending it down the middle and turning it to dust. The others, which were so keen on ignoring him and following the horse, immediately turned their attention back to him, snarling and growling all the like.

Behind him, the horse carried on running until it reached the apex of Half-Blood Hill, where it slowly sank to the ground. Ben took it in, though he couldn't do much where he was, fighting blade against claws and teeth.

"Percy!" He called out, and in a second, the older camper had pulled back and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. "Do you think you could handle these things? I should go call for help from camp."

Percy nodded, a glimpse of a smile on his face. "Easy-peasy. I'll hold them off, worry about her and the horse." He replied. Ben nodded his agreement and took off running, back towards camp. The hellhounds grew restless and jumped after him, only to be slashed out of the air by Percy.

"Hey now," Percy taunted as he back-stepped a set of swiping claws and took out another hellhound. "I'm the threat here. You pay attention to me, got it?"

Ben reached the hill, though before he attended to the girl and her horse, he ran up to the gates of Camp Half-Blood. Lights were on at the front of each Cabin, and further down, near the canoe lake, was a second set of night guards. Ben dug into his pocket and pulled out a short, red candle-like object. He ran it across his side once, and the top lit up in a bright red light. A flare, which each guard was forced to hold during the night.

Holding it high above his head, Ben began to wave the flare in a simple pattern; A straight line down, then a line straight across. As he moved the flare, the light drew in the air alongside him, and when he was done, a shining red cross was floating in the air. Ben smiled. He'd seen the demonstration that Leo gave, but it still amazed him that the thing worked.

He shook the amazement away, remembering that he needed to convey the entire situation. A simple cross was just 'Medical Help Needed,' but for 'Enemies on the Hill', he needed to draw a circle with an 'X' through it. Ben did just that, watching as the second set of guards noticed his message and wrote back; 'Help is Coming', which was an arrow pointing up inside of a circle.

Knowing that help was on the way, Ben ran back to the girl and her horse. The horse itself was breathing, which Ben was pleased to notice. He'd always liked animals. The girl, though, was in a much worse state. She was breathing, but it was slow. The timing between each breath was off, hinting at some form of internal damage. Firstly, though, the cut on her forehead needed to be dealt with.

Since he didn't fight much himself, Ben considered himself a combat medic, and had taken more medical classes with the Apollo Cabin and with Chiron when he could. Reaching into his satchel bag, Ben pulled out a rag and a small flask of nectar. Pulling the cork off the flask, He dripped a few drops of nectar onto the scar. It's effects weren't immediate, as they never were, but this seemed even slower than that.

Putting it off as his own paranoia, he took the rag, dripped a bit more nectar onto it, and began to apply a bit of pressure to her temple, just to the right of the cut. Ben could hear her breathing hitch up, which he took as a good sign.

"Come on, drink up.." He muttered, to her but mainly to himself. He attempted to force just a bit of nectar into her mouth, but to no avail. She was still out. The cut was looking slightly better, though. The bleeding had slowed, nearly stopping, and the cut itself had begun to close, just a bit, at each end. Deeming that was good enough as it was, Ben moved on to the horse.

It had been watching, and now that he was closer, Ben could tell that it was a stallion; a male.

"Hey, buddy. Hey...," Ben spoke softly to the horse, rubbing a hand across it's muzzle The stallion blew air from it's nose, probably the equivalent of a sigh, and relaxed under his touch. It's breathing was labored still, but not as bad as it's rider's was. Ben went through standard procedure; soaking a clean rag in nectar and running it across the horse's wounds. Usually, nectar only worked on magical beings, but horses were close enough to pegasi for it to work. Or at least that was the idea and general hope.

Fortunately, after a short moment, it did work. The cuts that Ben had gone over began to close, and within a short moment, had closed completely. The horse's breathing steadied out, and Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

The low clopping sound of hooves on grass brought his attention back to the real world. Ben whipped his head up, only to be met with the familiar face of his trainer and mentor.

"Chiron," Ben muttered, and the old centaur smiled down at him.

"You've done well, Ben. We'll take care of it from here," Chiron told him, and Ben took it upon himself to relax for the first time in what felt like hours. Now that he was paying attention once again, he could see that their help had come. Will Solace and a few other Apollo campers had swooped in to take care of the girl, whose eyes were now slightly opened, though she still looked out of it. She was laid down on a stretcher, her hands laid over her stomach like she was a corpse in a casket.

Far down the hill, Percy and Nico DiAngelo were cleaning up the remains of the hellhound force. When Percy cut one down, Nico swayed behind him, drinking in the inky pools of darkness that the monsters left behind. In no time, there was barely any evidence that the hellhounds had been there in the first place, save for a few claw marks against the ground or across tree trunks.

Ben staggered to his feet. Despite the fact that he didn't do much, he was exhausted, feeling as if he'd just dead-lifted a yacht. Chiron had trotted over to to inspect the girl, whose eyes had widened up as she looked back at him. Will was at his side, talking in a low hushed voice that Ben couldn't quite make out. Once the blonde saw him looking, however, he flashed him a lazy smile and shot him a thumbs up. Ben smiled back. Solace was a nice guy.

A hand fell onto his shoulder, and Ben looked to his side to see Percy, smiling at him.

"You did good, Ben," Percy exclaimed, turning back to face Nico as he waltzed up. He had since sheathe his sword, that wicked blade of Stygian Iron that made Ben's blood boil when he saw it. Nico nodded his hand in confirmation.

"Both she and the horse were close to death. What you did brought them back from the brink, Ben," Nico stated, monotone and calm. "Without you, they would've died."

Ben rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He'd never much liked receiving praise, if you could consider it that, anyway.

"W-well, I did what I had to. That's just about all I can say, honestly." Ben replied. It was a practiced response, one that he was well used to give when he needed to. Nico simply nodded and walked off, meeting up with Will Solace at the entrance to Camp before the two of them disappeared down the other side of the hill. Ben noted that they seemed a lot closer than most and left it at that.

Percy patted him on the back, and Chiron turned back to smile at the both of them.

"I'm sure the both of you would agree that you've earned yourselves a night of rest," He stated, scanning over both their faces as he spoke. "We'll send another group up, and the two of you can relax tonight."

Ben smiled at the idea of being able to go to sleep tonight, though he was sure it wouldn't come easily. Despite that, he nodded and muttered a low 'thank you' before both he and Percy began their trek down to the Cabins.

Once they reached the front of the Cabins, they split off. Percy headed toward his own, the Poseidon Cabin, and Ben went off toward the Big House, where he stayed in one of the few guest rooms. Being a pacifist, he didn't get along with his fight-loving siblings, and Chiron had opted to putting him in the Big House instead of sticking him with his siblings; a gesture that Ben appreciated wholeheartedly.

Stepping into the Big House, he first made his way to the infirmary. Without stepping in completely, he glanced in to see the girl, lying on one of the many beds, passed out. Her scars had mostly faded, and the grime that had plagued her skin just a few minutes earlier was gone. Her skin was dark brown and tan, and her hair, let out of it's braid, was mostly black but with streaks of brown here and there. The ripped shirt that she had worn earlier was gone, and now she wore a simple Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, like everyone else.

Her breathing was steady, and Ben decided that he'd talk to her tomorrow, if he had the chance or whenever she woke up. With that, though, he left the infirmary and began the short stroll to his room at the back of the house. Once there, he wasted no time and collapsed onto his bed the first chance he got. All was quiet, and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore outside his window helped lull him off to sleep.

* * *

Tonight, however, he got a taste of the dreams he'd never experienced before.

His dream opened up in the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood. Ben himself had never been too good at caring for plants, but he enjoyed it. Like always, he was knelt down in front of a particular bush, a wicker basket on the ground in front of him half-full with strawberries.

He plucked another from the bush and dropped it into the basket, bringing his hand up to wipe the sweat from his brow. Usually, Demeter kids and Dionysus kids would be in the fields alongside him, but today he was alone. It was a bit strange, but he didn't question it.

The sound of thunder shook him, and Ben stood up to peer at the clouds that were moving their way toward Long Island Sound. He wasn't worried about them, as the weather had always skirted it's way around Camp Half-Blood, but these storm clouds were enormous. Huge, dark, and rippling with thunder, they floated straight through the Camp's magical border, and it began to rain quickly; drops of water crashing down against the ground and thunder sounding out in the air.

Ben had never seen it rain in Camp, though Percy had told him it happened when something serious was happening. He couldn't think of anything serious that would cause storms like this to just march into Camp Half-Blood.

The ground was wet, and Ben, for some reason, felt as if it was running underneath his feet, like water into a drain. That's when he realized that it _was_. The entire valley was moving, crawling across the ground: and it all ran straight to the arena. Going with the flow, Ben followed it, running as fast as he could. As he went past, he noticed off things about all the buildings he passed. The color in the Big House was draining, flowing down it's sides and falling onto the ground. It was falling apart; from top to bottom and slipping away in the same direction as everything else. It was happening to everything; even the cabins.

Ben finally thundered into the arena, expecting a monster of some sort. Instead, all he saw was the girl; the one they've saved just that night. She was dressed in all black, jeans, boots, a long-sleeved shirt, and a military jacket. Her hair was tied back in a long braid, and it whipped in the wind. Her eyes, murky green but brown near the irises, were set in his direction; her brow furrowed.

It took him a bit to notice it, but she was standing in a knee deep hole. Ben started forward to help her, but some wreckage of what he could only assume was one of the cabins shot past him in the sinking ground. It flew towards her, and he opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Expecting it to hit her, he braced himself...but nothing happened.

He looked back to her, just to see the remains of what had shot toward her fall and sink into the hole, as if gravity itself had pulled it down. Ben then came to a sickening realization: She was causing the massive sinkhole, somehow.

"It's you," He said, finally finding his voice. Through the rain and the wind, his voice sounded muffled; Like it was coming through an old-timey microphone. "You're causing the storm. The sinkhole, everything. It's all you."

The girl raised an eyebrow, her eyes intense but with no malice.

"So? Are you going to do something or not?" She asked. Where his voice had been muffled, hers came out clear, cutting through the storm as if it wasn't there. "If you don't, you're camp is going to be destroyed, whether you like it or not."

Ben recoiled. She couldn't have been much older than him, maybe even younger. Just who _was_ she?

"But...," Ben replied, lost for words all of a sudden. "But why? What do you have against Camp Half-Blood?" He asked her. She shook her head, a look of thinly veiled disappointment crossing her face.

"I don't have anything against your Camp. I don't even want to be here!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms out. The storm picked up around her, the sinkhole dragging things in faster. Ben could feel himself being sucked in now, as it almost doubled in strength. She crossed her arms, staring Ben dead in the face.

"All I want," She began, and Ben slipped, falling down to the ground. He was dragged across the ground at an alarming rate, only stopping when his feet collided with her own legs. She felt like a wall. Ben looked up, only to see her staring down at him. Suddenly, the murky green of her eyes felt hostile. "Is what was taken from me. Return it, and I'll leave as soon as I came."

Ben tried to stagger to his feet but to no avail. He was stuck.

"What...What was taken from you? Tell me, and I promise I'll try to help!" Ben exclaimed. More wreckage piled in through the open doorway of the arena, all swirling around Ben and dropping into the sinkhole. The girl didn't move an inch.

The storm grew stronger, the arena itself beginning to crack and fall away. Ben looked away, watching as it began to crumble. When he turned back, the point of a spear was held just against the tip of his throat.

The sickening thing was: it was a beautiful weapon. The shaft was metal, most likely celestial bronze, painted a dark blue. There were random patches of it painted sea green, dark around the edges reminiscent of the girl's eyes. Around the entire shaft, a green serpent coiled it's way from top to bottom. It's head lied just at the base of the spearhead, which was regular, unpainted celestial bronze. About eight inches long, it didn't look like any weapon that Ben had ever seen. It didn't even look _Greek_.

The girl leveled the spear under his throat and crouched down so that she was level with him. The entire valley shook. Every building uprooted itself and flew through the air, falling just overhead of Ben. The ground shook beneath him: an earthquake, and, staring at the girl as she held a spearhead to his throat, Ben was sure she could do worse if she wanted to.

"Return it!" The girl shouted, and then the entire valley fell onto Ben, dragging him into the sinkhole. Then...darkness.

* * *

Ben awoke in a start, sitting up quickly. His room was dark, and he could barely see. His dream was still fresh in his mind, and his first thought was that he needed to tell Chiron. Then...maybe he'd confront the girl.

Though, he couldn't do any of that without getting ready for the day. Pulling himself out of bed, he stretched and looked around.

His room was small and next to Chiron's, so he sometimes heard the classical music that Chiron would play from his speaker. The door was in the front left corner, and his bed was pushed into the front right corner. There was a single window in the middle of the back wall, and Ben's desk sat in front of it. He didn't have a computer, no one in Camp did, but instead a stack of papers sat there. To the right of the window, several different pictures were nailed to the wall.

The first, a picture of Ben, his mother, and his cousin Landon before he left for Camp Half-Blood. In the picture, Landon was kneeling and Ben sat on his leg, despite the fact that he was much too big for it. Ben's mom, Eden, was kneeling on the other side of them, one arm slung around Ben. They were all smiling, Ben the largest. They'd just gotten back from the amusement park near his childhood home: one of the last fun things he did with them before he left.

He was only fourteen at the time, and had yet to grow into his bulk. He was big, he always had been. His hair was braided back against his head, as his mom had always liked it. It hurt more than anything for Ben, but he never argued. His front tooth, easily visible with his smile, was chipped slightly near the bottom. Landon, tall and lanky, had long black dreads, tied back with a red hair tie. A tattoo was just visible underneath his shirt collar, just against his neck, but Ben had never seen what it was.

Eden was tall, but strong. As it was now, Ben was taller than her, but she towered over him when he was fourteen. her hair was always cut long, and she never tied it up or braided it. It was streaked with gray, but Ben never really thought of her as old. More wise than anything. Her eyes were big, and dark brown, and her skin was the same as Ben's, though more tan. She was a disciplined woman, being in the army as long as she had been made sure of that, but the smile lines around her mouth and eyes spoke more than anything. She laughed and smiled a lot at home, and Ben loved it.

The next picture was recent, only a year old. In the picture, Percy, Annabeth, Ben, and Tyson sat at the end of a battered chariot. Last year's chariot race had been amazing. They all helped make the chariot, Tyson doing most of the heavy lifting and forging while Annabeth and Ben did most of the planning. Percy helped out sometimes too. In the end, Percy and Annabeth had driven the chariot while Tyson and Ben sat in the stands to watch. When they won, the four had celebrated and sat down in the chariot to commemorate the event. Looking at the picture, it brought a smile to Ben's face.

Pulling himself out of his memory-fueled stupor, Ben pulled out one of his Camp T-shirts, a pair of tan jeans, and his black sneakers and set out to shower and start his day off properly. His dream echoed in his head, but until he was ready to find Chiron, he could do nothing about it.

Showering as quickly as he could and putting his clothes on, Ben started to leave before he remembered something. The girl. She was in the infirmary. Making a split second decision, he strolled through the Big House and into the infirmary, only to see that the girl wasn't there. Upset, though he tried not to show it, he left the Big House with his shades on over his eyes.

The sun was shining, and the day had begun quite a while ago for everyone else. There was a game of volleyball going on between a group of campers, three on each side. Ben recognized two of them, each on different sides as they usually were.

Ian, son of Athena, was tall and lanky. He had a mop of neat blond hair like the rest of his siblings, startling gray eyes, and his upper arms were riddled with scars. He had a lazy type of smile, but it was offset by just how brilliant he really was. He could calculate complex problems in a second, making him a great asset to have in a battle. Despite that, though, he wasn't the best fighter. He usually took the role of 'pacifistic strategist' when it came to games of capture the flag.

On the other side was Vanessa, daughter of Hermes. She was shorter than average, but clearly a fighter. Her hair was short, cut to her shoulders in choppy strands, and bright red. Her eyes, a pale emerald green, were constantly furrowed angrily and freckles were splashed casually across her nose and cheeks. In a fight, she was usually the one to have on your side. Long-term strategy constantly went out the window, as she required just the bare minimum of plans to fight and win.

Because of how different they were, Ian and Vanessa were constantly on different sides, always against each other. It ranged from a lot of things; From Capture the Flag to regular old volleyball games. They could never properly see eye to eye on just about anything. Because of that, Ben was usually employed as the middle-man. With his open way of thinking, he usually found very easy solutions to their problems that both of their pride wouldn't let them see.

As he was walking down the front steps of the Big House, Ian saw him and waved, flashing him the same lazy smile he always had.

"Ben! Great to see you." He called out as Ben half-jogged half-walked toward them. Vanessa, who was holding the ball, shoved it underneath one arm and walked over to meet him.

"We seem to be at another impasse." Ian said just as Vanessa got to them. She scowled at his words, and shoved the ball into his hands. He stumbled, but managed to stay standing.

Ben shook his head slowly. "An impasse," He said, looking between them and the other players on the volleyball field. "Over volleyball. Again."

Ian shrugged, holding the ball between both his hands. A quick look of shame crossed Vanessa's face, but it was quickly put down by anger once again.

"It's not about volleyball. It's about him," She jabbed a thumb toward Ian, who faked sadness at her words. "We were arguing about capture the flag again, and he suggested volleyball to settle the differences."

Ben sighed. "I don't see why the both of you care so much," He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "If the both of you started working together, you'd realize just how much damage the two of you, together, could actually do."

For a second, Ben thought he saw a flash of red cross the both of their faces. An instant later, though, it was gone, along with Ian's smile.

"I don't think that'd be a possibility, Ben," He said, tossing the volleyball backwards behind him into the sand. "No time soon, anyway."

With that, he turned around and walked back to the pit. Vanessa watched him as he did, and when Ian picked the ball back up out of the sand, she nodded to Ben and walked back as well. As Ben began to walk away, he could hear the two of them going over the rules. Like they always did. Sighing once more, he began to jog his way to the arena. Maybe Percy would be there.

* * *

Percy was indeed at the arena, but Ben was surprised to see that Chiron, Annabeth, and the girl were there too. Chiron, standing at his full height as per usual, was talking to Annabeth when Ben came in. Percy was standing off to the side, Riptide in one hand and wearing armor. He was drenched in sweat and his breathing was still a bit labored. He'd been training before they'd all came in. The girl was standing further away. All her scars had faded, and she was surrounded by an air of hostility. Wearing black jeans, the same black boots and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, She stood with her arms crossed, twiddling a small blue pearl in between her fingers.

She was the first one to see Ben, and when she did, she walked over to him immediately.

"Hey," She said, nice and simple. "I wanted to say thank you."

Ben cocked his head to the side and, despite his dream, managed to muster smile. "For what?"

With her hair tied in the same long braid that it was the night before, she threw her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes were the same murky green that Ben had seen in his dream, though they didn't hold much malice now. More admiration than anything.

"For saving both my life and the life of my horse, Chestnut," She said. Chiron and the others had finally noticed that Ben was in the arena. "I appreciate it. Honest."

Ben awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Once again, not used to praise, he was at a loss for words. He managed out a 'you're welcome' as Chiron and the other came over. The old centaur nodded at him, while Annabeth and Percy stood off to the other side, talking quietly. After Ben took it all in, he tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"What's going on here?" He asked, looking between Chiron and Annabeth. Percy, with Riptide still in his hand, hiked the sword up over his shoulder.

"I was gonna ask the same thing. I was in the middle of training." He said, annoyance clear in his voice. Despite the sweat running down his face, he didn't look exactly tired. Annabeth shot him a look, but it wasn't angry or anything. More like a reassuring glance.

Chiron cleared his throat and turned to Ben. "It's good that you showed up on your own. I would have sent Annabeth to find you regardless," He started. "We are here, because our new guest wishes to leave already."

Ben, having heard some part of what the girl had already wanted, wasn't too surprised. Percy and Annabeth, however, were taken aback.

"So soon?" Annabeth asked. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, showing off the startling gray of her eyes. Dressed in shorts, running shoes, and a CHB t-shirt, she looked as casual as possible. "The outside world isn't safe for demigods."

The girl scoffed, and suddenly that hard malice that Ben had seen in his dream came back to her eyes.

"I'm aware of what the world is like," She said. She stood an inch or so taller than Annabeth, and as such was forced to look down at her to meet her eyes. "And I am capable of taking care of myself."

Annabeth didn't back down, and in fact stepped closer and crossed her arms.

"You mean how you rode in unconscious; you call that taking care of yourself?" She retaliated. Percy stepped forward and caught her arm, giving her an accusing glance. A streak of red crossed the girl's face, though she didn't move.

"You try riding a horse for a week straight, never being able to sleep because you _have_ to move or else the hounds get you!" She screamed back. Her face had gone red, despite her dark skin tone. "Those things were sent after me, I know they were. I've never had to deal with so many at once.." Her voice lulled off.

Chiron and Ben shared a cautious glance before they turned to quell the situation. Ben placed a tentative hand on the girl's shoulder, though she pulled away immediately. Chiron turned and muttered a few choice words to Annabeth, Percy joining in, and she went to sit in the stands. Percy turned back to the girl and straightened out his armor.

"Firstly," He said, his voice surprisingly chipper. "What's your name? You've gotta at least let us know that, right?"

She turned to look at him, her arms still crossed. "I don't _have_ to let you know anything," She said, tossing her braid over her shoulder once again. "My name's Leah. Leah Vasquez."

Percy nodded, seemingly satisfied, and Leah pulled the pearl out of her pocket again and began twiddling it once again. Ben felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.

"Leah, a pleasure to meet you then." Chiron said, though Leah clearly didn't want the hospitality. She turned to Chiron at once.

"When can I leave?" She asked, straight to the point. Chiron looked taken aback. He sighed and issued over to Annabeth, who was no longer paying attention to the situation.

"It's like Annabeth told you, my dear. It simply isn't safe in the world for a demigod," He trotted nervously, his tail whipping out as he did. "You would be better off here."

Leah threw her arms out. "I don't _care_ where I'd be better off! All I want is what was taken from me, and I won't get it back by sitting here and doing _nothing_!" She retorted. Ben flinched at her words. She'd sounded the same way in his dream. He took a step forward, holding a hand out tentatively.

"Leah...just..just what was taken from you?" He asked, his voice low and uncertain. Leah's eyes flashed over to look at him, now suddenly full of melancholy. Then, in the moment of confusion that crossed him, she was all anger once again.

"That's none of your business. If you let me leave right now, It won't be your problem anyway," She said, taking a step back. Her fist clenched around the pearl, and Ben thought he heard a slight crack in it. "If not, I can't promise that harm will not find your Camp. I will leave, one way or another."

Percy, Riptide now sealed away in his pocket, took a step forward.

"Hold on, did you just threaten my camp?" He asked, a slight tinge of protective fierceness edging it's way into his voice. " _No one_ threatens my camp."

Percy was taller than her, but Leah stepped forward until there was barely a foot between them. She stared Percy down with the same tense confidence that she'd stared Annabeth down with.

"So what if I did?" She asked. Her fists clenched tighter, and Ben was sure he heard the pearl in her hand cracking further. Tentatively, he stepped back. Chiron's eyes flashed over to him, but the old Centaur did not move.

"If you'd just let me leave, I wouldn't _have_ to do anything! But, it doesn't look like you people will listen to reason." Leah spat out. Percy's hand slipped into his pocket, and Leah took a step or two back. Something began nagging at Ben's mind, telling him of what would happen. For some reason, he couldn't remember it though.

Percy's brow was furrowed, and his hand slipped form his pocket, clenching Riptide tightly between his palm and fingers. Ben heard a low rumbling, and instinctively thought back to his dream. He glanced up to the sky, but it was clear. No thunderclouds in sight. Leah took another step back, her feet sliding slowly apart from one another. Chiron looked tense, but he was clearly in no rush to stop what was about to happen. Annabeth had stood up from where she sat in the stands, one hand held over her throat; grasping her beaded necklace.

"We can't just let you leave. There's an entire process to it," Percy said through clenched teeth. His anger had diluted a bit, but he was still festering quite a bit. "You get issued a quest, you talk to..-"

"Then issue me a quest! I don't _care_ what it takes for you people to just agree to it, just let me leave!" Leah interrupted. The pearl in her hand shattered, and tendrils of green spilled out between her hand. It looked like magic, but Ben couldn't be sure. He'd never seen it before. In a moment, the green tendrils solidified out into the spear that he had seen in his dream. Leah hefted it up by the shaft and set the end lightly against the ground. Just where it touched the dirt, Ben could spot a single pearl embedded in the butt of the shaft. The tip of the spear blade stood a couple, maybe three, inches taller than Leah herself, but with the way she handled it, it looked like she'd had it for a while.

Percy took half a step backwards, clearly surprised to see the spear come from seemingly nowhere. In retaliation, however, he uncapped Riptide and the blade sprung forth. Leah watched as the sword extended, and she tilted the spearhead down a fraction of an inch.

"We don't just issues quests, my dear," Chiron said, taking a step forward. His arms were by his side, though his fists were clenched. He expected a fight, as did Ben and Annabeth. "I'm sorry, but we cannot allow you to just leave."

Leah's eyes darted over to the old Centaur, down to Ben, across the arena to Annabeth, and then back to Percy. She took a deep breath and then looked back to Chiron.

"A deal then. Pick anyone in this Camp that you want to fight me. If they win, I'll stay here and do nothing. If I win, you issue me a quest and I get to leave." She said, he eyes full of determination.

Chiron did a bit of a double take, his eyes honing in on Leah.

"My dear, you can't be serious," He said, skittering a bit. Ben had never seen him so nervous about anything. "We don't just host random battles in Camp. I won't allow it."

Leah picked her spear up off the ground and pointed the spearhead toward Chiron. "Either you agree to this, or I force my way out. I've told you once, I'll say it again. I will do what I have to to get back what was taken from me."

Annabeth had stepped out of the stands and had inched her way toward the standoff, the Drakon Bone sword that she'd had for months, now held in one hand. Ben, with his arms crossed, stood off to the side, tall and imposing like a bodyguard, though he held no weapon. Chiron, with his bow slung over his back, stood his ground against the young demigod.

It seemed as if they'd simply stare each other down, that is until Chiron heaved a sighed and trotted his way over to Annabeth. He said something, low and hushed and then looked back to Leah, where she stood across from Percy. Both had their eyes trained on him.

"I agree to your terms then," Chiron said finally, and his eyes flashed over to Percy, then Ben. "As for your opponent, we select Percy. He's our best fighter. We will abide by your terms, and I expect you to do the same."

Ben's arms fell to his sides. He was sure this wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't tell why. His eyes flashed over to Leah, and she looked back, her brow furrowed. She slammed the butt of the staff against the ground, the pearl shattering, and the spear melted down into green tendrils of light again until Leah held only the small blue pearl in her hand once more. Slipping it into her pocket, she turned on her heel and walked away, toward the stands. Percy capped Riptide and slipped it into his pocket. With a glance toward Ben, he began to pull his armor off, throwing it to the ground, before walking out of the arena. Annabeth, who had been talking with Chiron up until then, stopped and walked out after him. Chiron looked to Ben, his eyes depressingly dark, and walked over to him.

"Chiron...," He started, though he couldn't continue. The old Centaur patted him on the shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile, though Ben could tell it was more for himself than anything.

"Come now, my young camper. We must be prepared." Chiron told him and began steering him out of the arena. With a short glance back toward Leah, who had sat down in the stands with her arms crossed, they left.

"Prepared? Prepared for what, Chiron?" Ben asked, finally finding his voice somehow. The two of them were walking now, back toward the Big House. The attic window sent chills down Ben's spine, as per usual, though he never really knew why. He'd never been up there.

Chiron reached the front door and pushed it open slowly. Being too tall as it was now, he could not enter, but the doorway was just mere inches above Ben's own head.

"A quest, my boy. We must be prepared for another quest." Chiron said, melancholy ringing true in his voice. Ben looked back to the arena, and his dream, in full, replayed itself in his head. Leah's arrival...it was something serious.

* * *

 **I'll be trying to keep these characters written as canonically as possible, but it may be a bit difficult for me. I'll be introducing a few of the other characters from the PJO/HoO series, like the rest of the Seven for example, as well as Nico, who will come back, Reyna, and a few others.**

 **All that aside, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Since these will be, and are meant to be, long chapters, I can't make a schedule for writing this at all. All I can really say is that I'll be trying to get the entire story out as soon as I can.**

 **If you enjoyed it, drop me a review and tell me what I can do better. If you REALLY enjoyed it, stick around. If you liked this one, I'm sure you'll love the rest.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**BENJAMIN K.**

* * *

 **"I've got bets on Percy," Someone said.**

"Yea, Percy's got my vote too." Someone else replied. Ben bristled, but he said nothing as he walked passed the small group of campers, back toward the arena with the newly fitted armor in his arms. New had spread fast about the fight, and now it was all that anyone was talking about.

"I dunno about that," Another voice, one that Ben recognized, said next. "The new girl looks promising. Spears beat Swords naturally, there's more reach."

Ben glanced over to see Clarisse, daughter of Ares, leaning on the shoulder of one of her younger siblings. Her hair was held back under a bandana and she was dressed in full, blood red, armor; as if she herself would be the one fighting against Percy. Chances are, she'd probably like to. Ben had never seen it himself, but apparently Percy had humiliated her a number of times already.

Since she was his sister, Ben didn't see her in the same light that Percy did. She was way more aggressive than most Ares kids, sure, but Ben understood that. That said, he did still steer clear of her when he could. This time he couldn't, though.

Clarisse spotted him and half-jogged to catch up. Once she did, she slung an arm around his neck and pulled him close to her. Ben was slightly taller than her, but Clarisse pulled him down to her height.

"Hey, Benny," Clarisse greeted him, falling into step alongside him as he walked back to the Arena. He slowed, though by just a bit. "Who're you placing bets on in the fight, hm? Jackson or the new girl? Personally, I'd like to see Jackson get his tail whipped."

Ben rolled his eyes and, in his head, said _Of course you would, Clarisse, anything to humiliate him_. What Ben didn't know, however, is that Clarisse and Percy had become friends, a large step-up from their uneasy relationship before.

Instead, he simply shrugged. "I don't know, Clarisse. I'd prefer it if they didn't fight at all, if you want me to be honest." He replied. Without looking at her, he could feel the sneer on Clarisse's face. She was the main one that he disagreed with over his pacifism, the main reason he stayed in the Big House instead of Cabin 5. She retched her arm away from his neck, rather violently, and stepped away.

"Maybe you should get over that," She said, as she always did. It was never 'maybe you should fight', it was always 'get over it'. "You can't live as a demigod without fighting at some point."

Ben rolled his shoulders, handling the weight of the armor better in his arms. Luckily Leah was small, so her armor didn't weight much, but carrying it for too long did get uncomfortable. He looked over at Clarisse, his brow furrowed.

"And when it comes to fighting monsters, I'm not worried," He replied, some anger tinting his voice. "Fighting other people is where I draw the line."

Clarisse snarled at him, clearly prepared to say something in response. Instead, she clenched her teeth and turned away, walking back down to the small group of campers amassed just next to the bathroom hall. Ben watched her, shaking his head before he resumed his walk back to the arena.

* * *

Leah was still sitting where she was when he'd left earlier. At the lowest level of the stands, her arms still crossed angrily against her chest, she whipped her head over to look at him as she heard his footsteps enter the arena. Ben had come back once after leaving with Chiron earlier; specifically to ask for her size in armor and if she wanted anything else. After giving him her sizes, which she'd already had memorized Ben noted, she'd asked for a tank-top variant of the Camp shirt and a roll of gauze. Ben wasn't sure if they'd had them, but he promised he'd look.

Now, coming back into the arena, he stopped and knelt next to Leah to hand her the armor, the shirt, and the roll of gauze. Annabeth had had one shirt, and while she was skeptical over sharing with the girl, she decided to give the shirt to her as a gift in the end.

"Annabeth said you could keep the shirt," Ben told her as he handed it to her. Leah sneered at hearing the girl's name, but took it without a word. "There are bathrooms where you can change if you want."

Leah waved him off and stood up. "It's whatever. I'll just change shirts before I put the armor on here." She said. Ben stayed silent and turned away from her without a word. After a good minute, she tapped him on the back and he turned back around. Wearing the new tank-top, Ben could see the muscles in her arms, clearly from wielding her spear.

Between his visit earlier and now, she'd let her hair down out of it's braid. Her hair, streaked with brown strands, was long, reaching just above her butt. Most of her hair was smoothed back, over her head, though there were just a few loose strands extending just over her forehead and above her eyes.

She knelt down to gather up the armor, and Ben knelt alongside her.

"I could help you, if you want." Ben offered, but Leah waved him off again. Taking the chest plate first, she quickly pulled it on and secured it to herself.

"No need," She said, though there was no malice in her voice. "I can do it on my own."

Ben stood back up, crossing his arms over his chest. Even if he didn't fight, looking imposing and like a threat was a talent of his.

"So you can," he noted, nodding. This girl was a mystery, he thought, one that he needed to unravel. "I wasn't expecting you to be so adept at everything we do here."

Leah whipped her head over to him, her brow furrowed. She was just finishing pulling on her arm guards before moving to leg armor.

"You people don't know anything about me." She spat out, her tone clearly ending the conversation. Ben held his palms up in submission and took a few steps back. Despite how nice she'd been to him when they first spoke, she was clearly still angry about Camp in general. Ben figured he would try not to upset her any further, and they sat in silence as Leah pulled the rest of her armor on.

Just as she secured the last strap on her leg guard, Percy, Chiron, and Annabeth walked back into the arena. Percy was wearing full armor, his hands in his pockets, and looking like he'd just stepped out of a shower. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead and he had a goofy smile on his face. Annabeth was talking quietly to him, and he was responding slowly but surely. Chiron had his bow over his back once more, but he seemed even less inclined to use it now than he did earlier.

Ben watched as they came in and barred off the entrance. Chiron was adamant about no one being able to watch the fight, sans himself, Ben, and Annabeth. As they settled down now, on the opposite end of the stands, Ben turned back to Leah. While he was looking away, she'd wrapped the gauze around her hands and had thrown her hair back over her shoulder and had re-braided just about all of it. She was tying off the end with a black hair tie when Ben turned around. He must've looked surprised because she laughed, though it was quiet and contained.

"I've got a lot of practice braiding my own hair. It's like a science now." She said, mirth finding it's way through to her voice. Ben smiled, deciding he liked it a lot better when she was happier around him and nodded. He turned around once again and walked over to meet Chiron in the middle of the arena. The old Centaur looked worried and his tail was constantly swishing around in the air. He was anxious.

"Chiron, are you sure this is alright?" Ben asked. He himself hadn't been sure about the fight since Chiron agreed to it, but the Centaur nodded.

"It is the only chance we have of keeping her here. I fear for Leah's safety, but I cannot argue with her any further." Chiron responded. Something about his tone sent chills down Ben's back, but he was sure not to question it. Chiron was hiding something, but he often did that to keep his campers safe from what they didn't know. Ben could appreciate and respect it, so he didn't dig into it.

"Ben!" Leah called out to him. Startled to hear his own name, he turned around slowly, an eyebrow raised in question. Leah waved at him, issuing him to come back, and he walked over to her, his hands in his pockets. Once he got there, Leah had turned and was watching Percy intently. Ben could only assume she was eyeing him up, looking for anything she could take advantage of during their fight. He cleared his throat and she turned back to look up at him.

"Hey, could you get me a bottle of water, please?" She asked him. Ben nodded, a little taken aback, but deemed that it wasn't that strange of a request.

"Oh, sure. Gimme a second." He replied, and Leah nodded in response, a smile on her face. Ben walked away from her, passing Percy and Annabeth as he did, and stopped at the cooler up against the wall of the arena. Kneeling and reaching into it, he pulled out a bottle of water and hurried back to Leah. Chiron was pacing in the center of the arena, which Ben took as the start of the battle looming closer.

"Here you go," He said, coming up and handing the bottle back to Leah. She took it graciously and muttered thanks before twisting the cap off and taking a long drink from it. Ben glanced back toward Percy, who was stretching out his arms with Annabeth drilling him from a few feet away, and sighed. He turned back to Leah just as she emptied the rest of the bottle over the top of her head. It looked sort of uncomfortable to Ben, but Leah jumped up to her feet, suddenly full of energy and began to stretch. Ben took a few steps back to be out of her way and crossed his arms once again.

In all honesty, he was still nervous about the fight. Percy was the best fighter he knew, and he'd seen the Son of Poseidon handle himself better than just about anyone in a multitude of situations. Leah was a mystery. He barely knew anything about her, but both her spear and the dream he'd had the night before made him anxious about what she could do.

Chiron began clapping, and both parties, including Ben, turned to face him. His face was grim set, and he spoke just loud enough for them to hear him, but not too loud. Even though none of them could see, they all knew there was a crowd outside the arena, peaking through every little hole they could find.

"Leah, Percy. Step forward, if you will." Chiron said. Percy turned and, after a short word with Annabeth, walked forward, pulling Riptide out and uncapping it as he did. Leah ceased her stretches and pulled the blue pearl from her pocket. With one strong clench, she broke the pearl and, now wielding her spear, stepped up to face Chiron.

The old Centaur's gaze swapped quickly between the two of them.

"This is to be a standard duel. First blood does not end the match, first fall does not end it either," Chiron spoke, low and rehearsed. Annabeth had walked over and stood next to Ben in the stands, her gaze focused as she watch both Leah and Percy's body language. "The match will end when one of you can no longer fight, be that as it may. Death is prohibited, though if you must inflict heavy injury, you are free to do so."

Both Ben and Annabeth flinched at his words. Aside that, Ben could see both Percy and Leah tense up. Chiron watched the both of them with interest before backtracking to the end of the arena. Leah and Percy were left standing in the middle, and the both of them quickly stepped away from each other to prepare for the duel.

Percy held Riptide in his right hand, the other with the wristwatch shield that Tyson had made and constantly fixed for him. Nothing too special about what he was doing, though Ben could see a faint trail of water across the ground around him. The now empty water bottle that he'd had was thrown across onto the ground. Ben could almost see what his plan was, but he wasn't sure. The shield was held close to his chest, pointing out towards Leah. Percy was looking at her over the rim of the shield, inspecting her movements. Ben had never seen him look so intense.

Leah had her feet spread out wide, right in the front and left in the back. Her spear was held on her left side, one hand near the end and the other closer to the middle. She was slowly turning the point in circles, seemingly aiming toward Percy's chest. Ben couldn't tell what was going through her head. Water from the bottle he'd given her was still dripping down her forehead and face. She'd done the same thing as Percy, though it didn't seem intentional for her. A trail of water had traced it's way from the tip of the bottle and across the ground in a straight line beneath her feet. The empty bottle was thrown a few feet away.

Chiron had his hand raised up in the air. Once he was sure the two were ready, he dropped his hand, signaling the start of the duel. Both Annabeth and Ben tensed up and sat down. This would judge the future.

* * *

There was a moment where neither of them moved. Percy watched Leah and clenched his fist around Riptide's handle. Leah watched Percy through the thin strands of hair that fell over her eye and slowed the spinning of her spear point. Ben and Annabeth watched on, waiting for the first move that was sure to come.

Leah struck first. She took a quick step forward, much faster than any of them were expecting, and sent a flurry of thrusts into Percy's shield. They weren't meant to hit, only to test the defenses. Percy held through it easily and countered with his own thrust, though he couldn't reach her. The spear was longer by two whole feet, and those two feet made a serious difference.

Ben could see Percy grimace as he stepped back, one foot stepping over his circle of water on the ground. He held his shield up across his chest and face once again and held his sword at the ready. Leah held him back with the tip of her spear, slowly turning it in circles once again. Ben had never fought with a spear in training, always swords because he had the brute strength to make it work, but it looked like a defensive measure; making sure the spear was always moving so she'd be prepared no matter what.

Another moment passed where neither of them attacked. Leah was a few feet ahead of her line of water, though there was no telling if it was intentional. Percy was held just against the rim of his own circle, and Ben could practically see the gears turning in his head as he came up with a plan.

Percy attacked next, a feint to the left followed by a jumping overhead strike around the right side. Using a bit of the water he'd left on the ground, he jumped much faster than one would expect, coming down on top of Leah like a rocket.

Unfortunately for him, she didn't fall for the feint. She took a large step back, her foot crossing over the line of water behind her, and brought her spear, horizontally, up to block the strike from Riptide. Celestial bronze striking against celestial bronze sent a loud _CLANG_ out into the air. Ben heard gasps from outside of the arena behind him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the fight.

After the block, Leah spun her spear around in a wide circle and behind her back, slashing out across Percy's shield multiple times. She ended it off with a strong, wide slash across with her left hand on the shaft of the spear. It was fast, much faster than one would think capable of such a large weapon. Percy's shield took a beating, but he managed to jump back just in time to dodge the last slash. He quickly got back into stance, circling around Leah's right side. Leah pulled her spear around to face him, still tracing circles in the air, and grasped the shaft with both hands once again.

Sweat was beginning to bead down Percy's forehead, but Leah looked comfortable, like she hadn't been worried at all. Ben was beginning to worry, but he wasn't sure for who at this point.

Percy stepped forward, pushing Leah's spear out to the side with his shield and swinging out to the right with Riptide. Ben tensed up, fearing the worst. Leah, however, ducked under the strike and rolled backwards, bringing her spear out with her and holding it up again to block the next overhead strike from Percy. He'd gotten in close, where he had the advantage over her spear, but Leah was fast. After blocking, she ducked lower and ran the spear across the ground, sweeping Percy's legs out from under him. He fell onto his back, groaning as he did, and quickly rolled to the side as the broad side of Leah's spear point crashed into the ground where he was just laying.

Just as Percy got to his feet, Leah lunged forward with a strong thrust aimed right at his chest. Her foot crashed into the ground, just on top of the line of water she'd left there, and Ben swore he saw that same water, now crusted and mixed with dirt, pull up and secure her foot to the ground.

Percy caught the spearhead between the rim of his shield and the flat of Riptide's blade. He gasped aloud, however, showing that Leah had hit her mark. Victory wasn't won just off of that, though, as Percy tilted his left arm out and used his free hand to grab the shaft of Leah's spear, just below the spearhead, and hold it strong. Where Leah was fast, Percy was strong. Leah tried to wretch her spear from his grasp, but to no avail.

With one strong pull, Percy threw her off balance and she flew toward him. Using his shield, he bashed her in the chest, tossing her backward into the ground. Leah groaned in pain but wasted no time getting back to her feet, just in time to block a sideways strike sent toward her from Percy.

Using his second wind, Percy took advantage of the fight, sending out a flurry of strikes, both sideways and overhead, to keep Leah on her toes and from counter-attacking. A few strikes hit home, cutting across Leah's arms and staggering her. Blood dripped into the dirt as the two kept fighting.

Against the far wall, Chiron grimaced heavily but said nothing as he watched the fight continue.

A slight mistake, Percy lunged into Leah's right side when she held her spear on her left. She dodged and countered, lunging out and stabbing through the right side of Percy's armor and his shirt. He gasped aloud but spun back with a wide swing to distance himself. Leah had the advantage again as she dodged the swing, jumping in and using her spear's length to keep Percy at bay and to keep the attack going. Most of her thrusts met his shield, metal clanging against metal, but a few of them managed to get through, scraping against Percy's armor and keeping him on his toes.

Jumping back gave Leah the advantage with the length of her spear, and she was clearly stronger on offense than on defense.

Leah feinted to the right with her spear, a hard move Ben would assume, and Percy fell for it. He brought his shield up to block, but he only blocked air. Leah pulled her spear back around, spinning, and slammed the flat of the spearhead into Percy's left side, throwing him off of his feet. He landed on his right arm, Riptide falling from his grasp. Leah stepped forward and held her spear, the point half a foot from Percy's face.

"Yield." she said through heavy breaths. She'd taken quite a few hits, and since she was smaller, Ben could only assume she couldn't take as many hits. Percy looked up at her, a crooked grin on his face.

"Chiron said it lasts until I can't fight," He steadied himself up on his left arm, using his right to reach and grab Riptide's handle. Leah saw, but didn't stop him. She was hesitating, to an extent. Maybe she didn't want to hurt him too badly. "I'm sure I can still fight."

With a yell, Percy rolled to the side and threw his arm up into the air. The entire cooler burst open, mixed in was the water he'd spilled on the ground, and it rushed toward Leah like a tsunami. A look of surprise ran across her face, but no fear, Ben noticed.

The wave crashed into her, but Leah held up and refused to fall. Percy found his way to his feet, only to see that Leah was still standing as well. She was drenched from head to toe, and a bit of her braid had come un-done. The water pooled around her, mixing into the dirt of the arena floor, her spear was still held at her side with one hand, her right clenching onto it hard. The gauze wrapped around her hands was soaked, and bits of it were beginning to peel off of her arms.

Despite that, she had a crooked grin on her face; the same one Percy had had just a moment ago.

"Cute trick," she said, taking a step forward. The ground shook, and Ben thought it was his imagination at first until he saw the looks on both Annabeth and Percy's faces. Leah took another step forward and the ground shook again. Percy's legs began to shake, and he fell to one knee. "My turn."

Leah yelled, and the mixture of dirt and water sprung up behind her, just as tall as Percy's. Ben saw his eyes go wide before the wall of murky water crashed into him. Usually, water revitalized him, but the mixture of water and dirt was more like mud than it was water. It threw Percy backwards and to the ground, sending him flying and rolling across the arena floor. Once it all cleared, he was left coughing and sputtering up water. His arms and legs shook, and when he tried to get to his feet, he shuddered and fell again.

Ben looked down at Annabeth, who had a look of sheer horror on her face. She looked up at Chiron, who nodded, and she ran to Percy's side. Ben looked to Chiron too, a look of amazement on his face. The Centaur nodded to him as well, and in his best stadium voice he said: "Our winner: Leah Vasquez, daughter of the Earthshaker, and the Stormbringer, Neptune, Roman God of the Sea."

* * *

There were gasps and muttered words outside the arena, but Leah's reaction is what caught Ben off guard.

Her legs slightly weak from the fight, she marched up to Chiron and, with malice in her eyes, sneered: "You knew."

Chiron looked at her, his eyes half-lidded. "I did, my child," He said, melancholy tinging his voice. He turned to face her. "I know a lot of things."

Leah smashed the butt of her spear against the ground, reverting it back to a pearl, and stuffed it into her pocket.

"Why didn't you just let me leave? You know who I am, you must know why I'm here, right?" She asked, quiet though still angry. Chiron nodded.

"I do. I knew your mother, though not as well as I would have wished." Chiron responded. Leah flinched at the mention of her mom, but she threw her arms out.

"Then why didn't you let me leave?!" She asked again, louder this time. Chiron sighed.

"We will talk of this soon, but not here and not now. Our audience outside of this arena is not permitted to hear this." Chiron said. Leah immediately shut her mouth, though Ben could tell she wanted to say more. A lot more. Instead, she shook the water off of herself as best she could before storming to the entrance of the arena. It was still boarded up, but with a movement of her arm, Leah used the rest of the murky water to smash through the barricade. There was a horde of campers sitting outside in the grass, all staring at her with a mixture of amazement and fear alike. Leah glanced at all of them before turning down her head and jogging down to the Big House.

Ben finally stood up and ran over to Percy's side, where Annabeth had helped him to his feet. He had a cold bottle of water in his hand, which he was slowly drinking out of. The cuts across his body were starting to heal, and Percy took a deep breath.

"Percy, are you...," Ben couldn't continue. What was he supposed to ask, was he alright? Luckily, Percy laughed shakily.

"I'm good, Ben, I'm good," He turned to look back at the crowd of campers outside, who had all turned away from Leah and were looking into the arena, talking in hushed whispers. "As much as it pains me to say it though..."

Percy broke away from Annabeth, who wasn't eager to let him go, and he walked up to the entrance of the arena. Picking up Riptide, capping it, and sliding it into his pocket, he announced: "I lost! Everyone go back to your cabins!"

A section of the campers broke off, and Ben saw money exchange hands way more than he would've thought. A small group, mainly Head counselors were left. Ian and Vanessa sprinted up to Ben, both housing looks of disbelief.

"Is it true?" Ian asked. "Did he really?" Vanessa asked at the same time. Ben could only nod, to both and send them on their way. He looked up to find Clarisse glaring at him with a smirk on her face. His brow furrowed in anger, but he did nothing as she hiked up and walked away.

After that, All those that were left were Leo, Calypso, Piper, Nico, Will Solace, and Jason. They all approached together.

Leo was the first to say something, whistling out as she shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"Dang, Percy. The first time you lose a straight on fight and I'm not even allowed to see it." He said jokingly. Piper punched him, but there was no strength behind it. Percy actually laughed too, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned on Annabeth for support again.

"Well, maybe next time, Leo," Percy replied, groaning as his hand went to his side again where Leah and stabbed through his shirt and armor. The cut itself had mostly healed over, but it was still sore. "She really did a number on me."

Jason looked him over, his glasses tilting across his nose. "I'll say. We could hear almost everything from out here. Pipes and I watched," He said, jabbing a thumb up at the top of the arena. "We flew up and saw the whole thing. She's good with that spear."

Piper nodded her agreement. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone that good with a spear. You went in at a disadvantage, Percy." She commented. Percy nodded.

"Yea, I knew that. I figured having the shield would give me something to work with," He pressed the button on the shield, popping it out for all to see. There were dents where Leah's thrusts and stabs had hit it, and several places where her spear and sliced straight through the metal. "It helped me a lot, but it didn't save me completely."

Nico stayed silent, but he looked over at Ben, his dark eyes sending shivers down Ben's spine. No matter how much bigger or physically stronger he was than Nico, the kid still scared him.

"Did you notice anything in that fight, Ben?" Nico asked him. All eyes turned on him, including Chiron who had stepped up next to the group. Ben rubbed his chin, where the start of a goatee had begun. Thinking over the fight and all the moves she made...

"She doesn't fight like a Greek or a Roman," Ben ventured. He looked around the group, though his vision was impaired by his shades. "All of her moves were way more ninja-like, you know?" He'd meant it seriously, but it sounded a bit like a joke. Fortunately, Annabeth nodded, agreeing with him.

"You're not wrong. I've seen movements like that, but never in real life," She looked up at Ben, her gray eyes scaring him as much as Nico did with his presence alone. "Only in like old fighting movies."

Leo cracked up. "What, you mean like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee and stuff?" He imitated a few karate moves, chops punches and kicks, almost falling over at the end of it. Calypso laughed at him, while both Annabeth and Piper rolled their eyes, but Annabeth nodded.

"Yea, kinda like that. I could see where she uses more Roman and Greek related stuff, like the way that she stands and the simpler moves like thrusts and stabs, but everything else felt way off." The others nodded their agreement, even the ones who hadn't seen.

Chiron sighed and began to usher everyone out of the arena.

"There will be time for conversation soon. For now, I must ask you all to go on your way." the old Centaur said. Talking hushed up, and the group began to disperse. Leo and Calypso began their trek back to the forest, where the both of them practically lived in Bunker 9. Jason, Piper, Nico, and Will left together on their way back to whatever it was they were doing before, probably cabin inspection, and then Ben, Annabeth, and Percy all began to leave too. That is, until Chiron stopped Ben.

"Not you, Ben," Chiron said, and Ben turned around to face him. He adjusted his shades, looking up at him, and raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll need your skill at defusing anger to speak with Leah. If you will, follow me, Ben."

Chiron began to trot back toward the Big House, and Ben had only a moment to think before he had to jog to catch up with him. Together, they walked down to the Big House, whereas whispers of Percy and Leah's fight was already spreading around them. The main thing being: _Percy lost._

* * *

Ben thought they'd find Leah in the commons room of the Big House, but they had no such luck. A camper who'd been around had said they'd seen her run off to the beach. Chiron hoisted Ben up onto his back and the two of them ran out to the beach.

When they got there, Ben didn't see Leah immediately. Chiron looked around, and after a short moment, pointed out toward the water. Sitting close to the shore in knee-deep water, Leah looked out across Long Island Sound, her arms wrapped around the tops of her knees and her chin set against her arms. Ben dropped to the ground and began to walk toward her across the sand. Leah's head whipped over, and Ben froze up as her eyes fell upon him. She rolled her eyes, though, and looked back toward the sea. Ben looked back at Chiron, who hadn't moved, and the old Centaur nodded. Sighing, Ben continued to walk over until he stood up behind her.

Leah didn't turn to look at him again, but she clearly knew he was there. She'd let her hair out of it's braid again and her hair flowed out in the water behind her. Her brow was furrowed still in anger, but sitting alone for a bit had clearly defused some of it on it's own. Ben noticed that her clothes weren't exactly wet. He could see that they were darker under the water, but if she shifted slightly, he could see that her clothes were still dry.

"So...," Ben began, but Leah cut him off almost immediately.

"I need to leave, Ben. Chiron and I made a deal," She said. Immediately pulling herself to her feet and swinging her hair around over her shoulder, she began to run her hands through it. "I don't care what he thinks, or what his reasons were for trying to keep me here. I'm leaving, and he isn't stopping me this time."

Ben crossed his arms. Through his shades, he couldn't see color too well. He was used to it, though.

"Look, Leah, just slow down for a moment, alright?" Ben said, holding his hands up passively as she turned to look at him. "I'm not going to pretend to understand what Chiron does all the time. He has his reasons, and I can understand why he does the things he does. That said, maybe you can hear him out before you leave."

Leah narrowed her eyes at him, but Ben continued.

"Chiron has always been a man-er, a centaur- of his word. He promised to issue you a quest if you won, and you did," Ben turned to face her, adjusting his shades as he did. "Hear him out, and I'll make sure things work out for you, okay?"

Leah furrowed her eyebrows, clearly thinking about this offer. After a moment, she sighed and stepped out of the water. Immediately, the water drained off of her and back into the sea.

"Fine." She muttered. Beginning to tie the braid in her hair once more, she began to walk back up to where Chiron was waiting. The centaur nodded at Ben and gestured for him to follow. Shaking the sand from his shoes, he jogged across the beach and met with the two of them as they began to walk back toward the Big House.

They walked on in silence, Leah braiding her hair, Chiron with both hands clasped behind her back, and Ben with his arms crossed. Campers who were walking by cast incredulous glances at them, though they received nothing in return. Ben caught sight of Nico and Will on the porch of the Big House as they neared it, though when Nico saw them he grabbed Will's arm and pulled him away.

Chiron ducked under the doorway to enter the Big House, and Leah followed with Ben at the back, shutting the door behind them. The three of them gathered in the games room, where meetings were usually held.

"Now," Chiron said, easing himself backwards into his magic wheelchair. Soon, he was reclined back into his chair. He sighed and wheeled himself around to the head of the table. Ben sat on his right side, and Leah sat on the left, facing him. "We should discuss this."

Leah, after tying her braid off at the end with another hair tie, looked to Chiron. "We had a deal. I'd like to be issued this quest so that I can leave now." She sounded much more calm than before, something Ben was grateful of.

Chiron held a hand up. "I am aware. Quests, however, are difficult as it is right now." He replied. Leah's eyes flare with anger, though she held it in.

"What do you mean?" She asked, glancing between Chiron and Ben. Ben rubbed the back of his neck.

"Our Oracle, Rachel, is off at school right now. Technically, Percy and the others shouldn't be here either, but they're on leave for the month," Ben explained. "Rachel is the one who issues out prophecies and stuff for quests. Without her here, we can't really issue a proper quest."

Leah stood from the table, slamming her palms on the pool table. The stray balls across it were thrown to the ground.

"Then how? How am I supposed to leave?" Leah looked to Chiron for answers, whose eyes were downcast. "We had a deal. Issue me a quest without the prophecy and I'll be on my way."

Ben held a hand up in Chiron's place, who sighed once again. "Okay, keep it calm, Leah. Fortunately for us, Rachel isn't really the only oracle we have."

Leah's eyes flashed over to Ben. "What do you mean?"

Ben stood up and tried to easily soothe Leah back into her seat. It took a moment, but she did eventually slip back into her seat, crossing her arms.

"The Grove of Dodona. It's far out into the woods, and a couple months back it did issue out a prophecy to the god Apollo," Ben explained. Leah's eyebrows rose in surprise, but Ben shook his head. "That part is hard to explain, I wasn't here for that. The Grove should be able to issue you a prophecy, though."

Ben looked to Chiron for reassurance, and it seemed a bit of life had gotten into the old Centaur. "Theoretically, yes, it should work. It never hurts to try, I suppose."

Leah perked up, looking between the two of them. She was wary, though, Ben could see that.

"Is there any way I could get hurt by doing this?" She asked. Ben shrugged, which didn't exactly do much for her confidence.

"Lord Apollo went through it and came out fine." Chiron commented.

"But he's a _god_." Leah responded.

"Well, at the time he wasn't. He was just a mortal, technically not even a demigod. You'll be fine, my dear." Chiron told her. Leah didn't look convinced, but she sighed.

"Fine, I guess it's what I have for now," She said, pushing herself to her feet again. "Lead me to the Grove and I'll be out of your hair in the morning, Chiron."

Chiron rolled his chair back and nodded to Leah. They seemed to be getting along now, for the most part. "Very well. I'll have Miranda Gardiner escort you. She was tasked with watching after the Grove by Lord Apollo himself. Next to him and Rachel, she is the most knowledgeable about it."

Leah nodded, her braid bobbing as she did. "Very well then. Lead the way, if you will."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Miranda Gardiner was leading both Leah and Ben through the woods, toward the Grove of Dodona. She had red hair and piercing green eyes. Not sea green like Percy's or murky green like Leah's, but spring green, like fresh leaves.

"The way we got to the grove before was way more dangerous," She was telling them. They'd carved out a new path to the grove after Apollo had first used it. "We used to have to go through the Myrmekes lair just to get to the entrance of the grove. Ever since then, though, Katie and I carved this path out to make it easier to get to it."

Ben nodded. He'd put on new bronze breastplate, just in case, and had a standard issue Celestial bronze sword hanging at his side. He didn't like carrying the sword, but Chiron was adamant about him having a weapon just in case.

"That's smart. At least this way, all you have to worry about are the few stray monsters you might encounter on the path," Ben tilted his head, looking up at the trees. Through the dark lenses of his shades, it was difficult to piece anything together, especially with the sky growing as dark as it was. "You guys did a good job on the path, Miranda."

Miranda looked back at him, a pleased smile on her face, and kept leading them on. Leah rolled her eyes and kept walking. She'd gotten her armor fixed and was wearing it once again, her arms crossed across her chest. Her braid swished through the air behind her as she walked, and her eyes were constantly drifting around the forest.

Ben glanced at her, concerned. She was unsure about Camp, that was fair. He was hoping, though, that after talking with Chiron she'd be a little more open with it. No such luck, as now she looked just as she did before: Distant and angry.

Finally, they stepped through the trees to where the Grove of Dodona lied just before them. Ben had never seen it, and his breath was taken away when he did. The entrance itself was flanked by tall, wide trees that extended high up into the sky. Through the entrance, Ben could see a ton of trees in the same way making a sort of path into the grove.

It was dark now, and fireflies had found their way just before the entrance. They flew around, buzzing quietly and lighting up the air wherever they went.

Miranda crouched low next to the entrance, though Ben couldn't see what she was doing. After a second, she stood up and motioned Leah forward.

"It's still stable, so you should be able to walk right on through. The trees will begin to speak to you, as Lord Apollo said, issuing you your prophecy." She explained. Leah tilted her head to the side.

"That sounds confusing." She sighed, un-folding her arms. Ben frowned a little and walked around until he found a log to sit on.

"Sounds like it, but it's not," He commented. Leah turned her head to face him, raising an eyebrow. "The prophecies themselves are fairly simple, though the wording will probably be confusing."

"You've heard a prophecy before?" Leah asked, almost incredulously. Ben ginned and shook his head.

"Ah, no. I've only gotten info like that from people who have heard prophecies before, like Annabeth or Percy," He said bashfully. Leah rolled her eyes at him, but a small smile did find it's way to her face. "I suppose you'll just have to experience it then."

She shrugged, stretching out her arms. "I suppose so. Well, I'll be back then." With that, she walked into the grove slowly. Ben could hear the voices pick up, but he couldn't tell what they were saying. Soon, she disappeared behind the trees and Ben was left outside with Miranda.

It was, to say the least, awkward. Ben and Miranda never talked that much, though they had shared some words or conversations whenever Ben decided to help out in the strawberry fields. After a moment, Miranda cleared her throat.

"She seems...angry, to be honest." Miranda said, turning to look at Ben as she did. He sighed and nodded his agreement.

"Yea, I've been trying to work on that," He admitted, laying his arms across his knees. "Maybe she's just pent-up. I like to think that no one is inherently angry all the time."

Miranda shrugged and walked over to sit on the log next to him. "I envy you for that. You always have so much faith in people. After going through the last two wars...," Miranda shook her head depressingly. "I lost that mind set a while ago."

Ben frowned, crossing his arms. He shrugged and elbowed her, though there was no force behind it. "Well, that's partly why I practice pacifism. When you don't hold fighting as an option, it really widens your horizons to what else you could say or do when it comes to confrontation."

Miranda looked up at him, searching his face for...something, Ben couldn't tell. After a moment, though, she smiled. Unexpectedly, though, she leaned forward to peck him on the cheek before standing up. Ben's eyes followed her as she stood, and he was quietly thanking the gods for his darker skin, masking the blood that rose to his face.

"That makes a lot of sense. Maybe you should teach me some time. It sounds fun," Miranda told him. her eyes then flashed back to the grove entrance, where Leah was beginning to walk back out. "And it looks like she's back. How was it, Leah?"

Leah turned to look at them, but her movements were sluggish. A few strands in her braid had come undone, so her hair looked a bit frizzy. Her eyes were unfocused, and she had her arms wrapped around herself protectively.

"That..that was...," Leah sighed, shaking her head. "An experience. I didn't like that at all," She commented. She looked a little unsteady on her feet, and Miranda offered to help support her. Leah thanked her but declined.

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just...disorienting is all." Leah said as they began to walk back. Miranda lead the way once again, Leah behind her, and Ben at the back as they began to walk back to camp. Ben glanced around the forest, suddenly aware of how many monsters really did inhabit the woods. He got a little nervous and cautiously dropped a hand onto the handle of his sword. He glanced ahead at Leah, who looked like she wasn't going to be much help in a fight as she was now. Miranda wasn't too good a fighter herself, so Ben was practically the defender of the group at the time.

When they were about what Ben assumed to be half-way back to camp, he heard a low hiss start out somewhere behind him. Miranda and Leah heard it as well and stopped, looking around. As uncomfortable as it made him, Ben drew his sword from it's scabbard and looked around the forest. The dark of his shades would hinder him so, after muttering a few short words and casting his hand over his eyes, he took them off.

The sudden color was startling, and he quickly stuffed his shades into his pocket and blinked a few times before looking around again. Miranda looked back at him, worry crossing her eyes.

"You've got us, Ben?" She asked. Ben nodded and gestured with his hand for her to keep going. She started walking again, and Leah began to follow. Leah was holding her pearl in her hand, but she didn't look like she had the strength of mind to fight.

'No worries' Ben thought, clutching his sword in hand as they steadily moved forward. 'I've got this.'

Disaster struck about five minutes later.

They'd made decent ground, though the entire time they'd kept hearing more and more growls from the shadows around them. Ben thought they sounded like hellhound growls, but he couldn't be sure. Leah had since completely pulled her spear out, but she still looked in no shape to fight. Miranda seemed downright terrified. Ben knew she wasn't that good a fighter, and that she didn't like it anyway. He'd tried to keep moral up, but he wasn't so sure of himself.

There were close to Camp down. Ben could see the lights on the cabins. Unfortunately, that was when all Hades broke loose.

Myrmekes, that had seemingly been following them from the grove, lept from the shadows. There were only two of them, but that was still more than Ben wanted to deal with since they were like the size of tigers. Since he held the sword, the only shiny thing in their group that stood out, both ants jumped at him.

His instincts kicked in and he backtracked a step before rolling backwards into the forest, away from Miranda and Leah.

"Ben!" Miranda called out, though he couldn't do much to get back to them. Leah turned around and hefted her spear up, but neither ant was facing her.

One lashed out at Ben. He sidestepped easily and went in for a lunge, but the other ant came in, forcing him to feint and jump back instead. Maybe fighting one would be easy, but two was harder.

Ben rolled to the left under a set of pincers and then jumped up and away to dodge a ball of... _something_ flying from the second myrmeke. Ben landed on his feet in ankle deep water. He instantly looked up to where Leah held her spear aloft, defending Miranda if need be. One of the myrmekes glanced over, catching her spear, and began toward them. The other kept it's eyes on Ben.

"Leah!" Ben called out, blocking an attack from the ant as he did. She looked up at him, her eyes still cloudy and unfocused. "The water!"

She seemed to understand, but the myrmeke had gotten onto them. Fortunately, she could still take up a defensive position. The Grove of Dodona had clearly altered her mind, though, as she was still moving way slower than when she fought Percy.

She stamped her foot, and a wave of water washed over both the myrmekes. It was weak, though, and both ants got back to their 'feet' after a mere second. Ben cursed under his breath and decided to take the offensive.

He feinted to the right of the ant and then swung back around with a well-placed strike to it's head. The myrmeke dodged though and spit poison toward him. Ben stepped to the side and shoved his sword into the dirt beneath the ant. Before it could react, he mustered all the strength he could and pulled his sword upwards, flipping the myrmeke through the air. It landed on it's back, writhing, and Ben dropped his foot on it's chin before it could get up and spit poison at him again. Taking a breath, he took his sword and shoved it into the softer bits underneath the ants much harder back armor. It melted into sand beneath him and was blown away in the wind before his eyes.

Ben wasn't allowed to rest though, as he heard Miranda cry out behind him. He jerked back around to see Leah lunging out at the ant that was after them. She had gained some of her gusto back and was keeping it at bay, but a lucky poison shot had grazed Miranda's arm. She was on the ground, clutching her arm just below where the poison had touched her. The skin had turned green and the wound itself was red and steaming. That didn't look good.

Making a last, split-second, decision, Ben called out: "Hey!"

The myrmeke turned to face him, only for Ben's sword to bounce off the top of it's head. It recoiled in pain, just long enough for Leah to dash around and pierce through a chink in the myrmekes back armor. It trembled before turning to dust and blowing out in the wind.

Ben took just the right amount of time to grab his sword and sheath it in it's scabbard before running over to Miranda's side. He hadn't brought any medical supplies with him, and he was surely chiding himself over his decision now. Leah had reverted her spear back to pearl form and she was issuing towards camp.

"Ben," She said, her voice hazy. "We can get her back to the infirmary. The faster the better."

Sighing, he nodded his agreement. Gathering Miranda up in his arms, bridal style, Ben and Leah ran for camp, promptly ignoring the further growls and hisses from the forest around them.

If it was up to Ben, he'd never go back in those woods again. As long as he could help it, he wouldn't go back.

* * *

 **Okay! I realize that I left some things that I'd meant to explain out of this when I published the first chapter!**

 **When it comes to the entire series, I've read all of the books except for the newest one in the Trials of Apollo; the Dark Prophecy. I plan on getting it and reading it soon so that I could make this story as accurate as possible. I have read the Hidden Oracle, which is how come I have some good major details about the Grove of Dodona and Apollo as a mortal in there.**

 **I have no clue what major things happen in The Dark Prophecy, but I'm going to try my best to improvise where I can. When it comes to characters in those books, like Meg, Lester(Apollo), and Leo and Calypso kind of, I'm going to wing it as hard as possible. I'm sorry if it comes out strange or inaccurate, but it's the best that I can do for now.**

 **All that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This is a real passion project of mine, so I'm way more inclined to write this out as much as I can. If you liked it, leave me a review and tell me what I can do better! If you really liked it, stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**LEAH V.**

* * *

 **She hadn't seen one before, but Leah was sure she could stand to go another seventeen years of her life without seeing another Myrmeke poison wound.**

By the time they'd reached the Big House, it had gotten worse. The skin around Miranda's wound had turned from green to purple, and her skin was so hot it was beginning to bubble around the wound. The wound itself was blood red and steaming, clouds of boiling mist blowing up into the air as they moved.

Leah's head had fully cleared itself out by now, but she was still ashamed that it had taken so long. She definitely wasn't ready for the prophecy. It's words and just the way it'd invaded her head had put her off so much that she could barely contain herself. Only the Myrmekes attacking was enough to jar her back into reality, and even then it didn't happen immediately.

Now, standing in the doorway of the infirmary as Benjamin and the tall Apollo kid, Will she thought she heard Ben call him, worked on Miranda's arm, she couldn't help but feel bad.

Since coming back, Leah and Ben had both stored their armor away again. Leah had showered, but Ben didn't have the chance to. He'd been in the infirmary the entire time with Will, and it clearly placed some strain on him. His shoulders were tense, Leah could see that much, but he was focused intently on what he was doing.

Ben was kneeling at Miranda's bedside and Will was standing next to him. Ben held Miranda's arm down, muttering words of encouragement to her as she struggled. Her face was beaded with sweat and she was hyperventilating, though she was complying with them as much as she could. Will was doing most of the healing, though when he needed an extra hand Ben was there to provide it.

Leah didn't know the first thing about healing magic or medicines. She'd never been any good at either, so it was one of the things she'd ignored. Seeing it here, though, as Will and Ben worked side by side to aid Miranda, she discovered a newfound respect for it.

"S'cuse me." Leah heard. Without looking, she straightened up to get out of the way. Nico walked in past her with his arms full of spare medical supplies. He glanced at her, chills running down her spine, and then he walked around to the other side of Miranda's bed to drop the supplies within arms reach of the two medics. Will looked up and smiled at him, Nico returning it in earnest before he walked off.

Nico stalked past Leah through the doorway, but before he left completely, he stuck a finger out at Leah, gesturing her to follow. She hesitated, clearly, and he kept walking. Looking back at Ben and Will as they worked, she steeled herself and followed the son of Hades out of the Big House.

* * *

When she got outside, Leah could barely see him.

It was still dark out, and from where they were on the porch, they could see the moon in the sky high up above Long Island Sound. Nico, dressed in black jeans, black boots, a black t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, and a black leather jacket, was leaning up against the railing on the outside of the porch. His dark oily hair flowed quietly in the wind, and his olive skin was deathly pale in the moonlight. When he turned around to look at her, his eyes looked like empty sockets for a second. Leah blinked, and they were back to normal. Extremely dark, but normal.

Leah was suddenly aware of how cold it was, but she couldn't be sure if that was because of the air outside, or because of Nico. In all honesty, he scared her. There wasn't much she was afraid of, but in the short time she'd taken notice of him, he'd forced himself onto that list.

Rubbing the bare skin of her arms, Leah stepped forward, raising an eyebrow at Nico. After showering, she'd put on a pair of simple blue jeans, her black boots from before, and a spare CHB shirt Ben had given her. She assumed it was once of his, because it was several sizes too big. She'd wrapped gauze around her arms, hands, and fingers again just for the warmth and she'd decided to just let her hair out against her back instead of braiding it.

Nico saw her rubbing her arms and raised an eyebrow in retaliation.

"You cold?" He asked, though it wasn't really much of a question as much as it was an observation. "You'd be surprised how many spare jackets I have. I could loan you one."

Leah shivered, but despite that she shook her head.

"I'm not really that big a fan of leather," She admitted, tilting her head to the side. Nico shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I think it's pretty comfortable." He replied. Shoving her hands into her pockets, Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's your game here? I can feel everyone else's suspicion about me, but you don't...you have a really weird feeling to you." She said. It was true, she was fairly good at reading people. Ben wanted her to be comfortable at Camp. Miranda didn't know what to think of her, but was edging toward hostility. Annabeth didn't like her, and Percy was trying to like her. Will was pretty neutral, but he clearly wanted nothing to do with her. Nico, though. He was a mystery.

The Son of Hades shrugged and pulled his coat a little closer to him. He didn't seem cold at all, Leah noted.

"I'm not really one for playing games," He told her. She'd failed to notice it before, but at his side hung a deathly black sword. It filled her with dread just looking at it, so she decided not to. "So I won't. I don't really trust you. I've seen this act that you're pulling more than once, and I've done it myself, though slightly modified."

"You can say whatever it is that you want, that you just want what was taken from you. But people have done worse things for far less. I don't like this camp," He said, his eyes darting through the window where they could still see Will and Ben hard at work. "But it is my home. And there are people here that I care about. If your allegiances sway for even a second, trust me that there is nowhere on this planet where I won't find you."

The night grew darker, and Leah found herself needing to blink to make sure she wasn't going blind. Once her vision cleared up again, Nico was gone. She was left alone on the porch, with only the moon high above Long Island Sound for company.

Instead of turning back and walking back into the Big House, Leah found herself full of... _anger_. Sure, she'd done a couple of things...okay a lot of things, that would label her as a dangerous person who wasn't to be trusted, but she herself didn't call for it.

Sighing in exasperation, Leah stepped forward to lean up against the railing of the porch. The circumstances had pushed her to where she was, that was all. She couldn't control it, and she wouldn't try to. The Fates worked in mysterious ways, her mom had always said. 'They can't be controlled. All you can really do is just go with the flow.'

She glanced back behind her into the window of the Big House. Will and Ben had switched places, Will sitting at Miranda's side and Ben working on her arm. His shades were off, stuck into his pocket like before when they were in the forest. His eyes were brown, just a tone darker than his skin, but something was off. There was a weird air around them, and they looked unfocused. To Leah, though, he looked as focused as ever. His gaze was unwavering and his arms and hands, huge and thick, were moving with surgical precision. There was something odd about that.

Glancing away, Leah saw Nico standing in the doorway of the infirmary, where she herself had stood only minutes ago. He was staring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Her eyes narrowed and she sneered at him. There was no real way to tell how old he was, as Leah had always based age off of the eyes. In his eyes, though, all she saw was misery. It made her a tad bit upset if she thought about it too long.

In a fit of brash aggression, Leah flipped him off. Before she could see if his expression had changed at all, she turned back around and lept over the railing. She needed to soak in her thoughts for a bit.

* * *

At night, the camp seemed a lot more tranquil than it usually was during the day. The cabins were mulled over in darkness, stray lights flickering at the sides of each doorway. One cabin particularly stood out. Up against the right, it was the closest to the beach. It was low and gray, and the windows were open. Leah couldn't see inside, but it felt particularly home-y. If that made any sense.

Before getting there, Leah pulled her boots off. She wasn't wearing socks, as that was something she didn't want to ask Ben for, and she could feel the grass beneath her toes as she walked onward. The dirt soon turned to sand beneath her feet, and Leah breathed in the salty smell of the ocean. Back when she was at home, with her mom, Leah had always liked going to the beach on vacation. it always came with a sense of family. Even when she wasn't there with her mom, the few times she went to public school she'd always go there afterward, it was reassuring.

Holding her boots in her hand, it took her a while to notice that she wasn't alone on the beach.

Sitting waist-deep in the water, Percy was staring out across the ocean, almost like he was having a silent conversation with it, dressed in just swim trunks. Leah slowed to a halt, watching him intently. Just a few hours ago, they'd fought almost to the death. Leah wouldn't have killed him, and she was sure he wouldn't have killed her either. Just after that, she'd been outed as his sister; half-sister, really, but it was still embarrassing. With nothing to say in the matter, she just ran. Like she always did.

His ear twitched, and he turned to face her. Leah expected him to scream at her, or something of the sort. Instead, he half-smiled and waved.

"Hey," he said, completely docile and un-wavering. Leah took a few steps forward in silence, and he continued on. "You come to sit in the water sometimes too?"

Struck by how...calm he was, Leah just nodded. She continued to walk in, just until she was level with him and a few feet away. Taking a moment to focus, she threw her boots behind her and sat down in the water. It was cold at first, as it always was, but then it got warmer. Looking down just to make sure, she saw that her clothes were still dry. A sigh that she didn't know she was holding escaped her. Percy caught it with a raised eyebrow.

"Dry clothes, right? I do the same thing." There was a dry smile on his face, but it was sort of forced. He was clearly uneasy about her.

"Yea, it's catchy," Leah replied. She leaned forward and hugged her knees. Her hair began to flow out into the water behind her. That was always harder to keep dry. "This is weird, man, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say to you."

Percy laughed and turned to look back across the ocean. "Yea, I was thinking the same thing. I got used to everyone around me having godly siblings, I never thought I'd have one too."

Leah turned to look at him, her eyebrow raising in question. "So, everyone here is a half-blood then? Even your friend Annabeth?" She asked.

"Well, I'd say she's more than a friend, but yea. Everyone here has a godly parent, all Greek except you now." He replied. Leah turned away, her gaze down toward the water beneath her. Then, after a moment of thought, she jerked back up to look at him.

"All Greek? So no Roman at all?" She asked. Percy turned back to her, nodding slowly.

"Yea, all Greek. Camp Half-Blood is for Greeks, and there's another one in California, Camp Jumpier, for Romans. It's weird that you showed up here and not there." He said. Leah had a questioning look in her eyes.

"So then, you and Annabeth and Ben. All Greek?" She asked. Percy nodded again, slower again. He wasn't grasping exactly what she was questioning.

"Yea, Poseidon's my dad, Athena is Annabeth's mom, and Ares is Ben's dad," Percy replied. Maybe saying the names out loud wasn't too smart, but he was distracted. "Is something up?"

Leah was murmuring under her breath. When Percy questioned her, she sighed and placed her chin on her knees. "No, nothing. Just...confused is all." She told him. While her focus was elsewhere, her hair had gotten wet, and so had her jeans. As it was, she couldn't will the water out, so she just sighed and went back to willing the rest of it away. Percy took notice.

"Can you not...is it hard to push the water away like that?" He asked her, pointing down to her jeans. She glanced down and nodded.

"Clear, pure salt water is hard to control for me. Murky water, like back in the arena, has always been easier. I just never questioned it," Leah replied. She looked over at Percy, question in her eyes. "It's easy for you?"

He ran a hand through his hair, grinning sheepishly. "Well, yea. Water is pretty much all it is for me. That and wind sometimes, that's happened if I'm really focusing."

Leah pouted, perking up and splashing the water a little. "That's so unfair. It takes so much more concentration for me to seriously control water than it should. I've like, read books on it and everything, it sucks.

Percy managed out a laugh. "Books? Jeez, you sound like Annabeth," Leah cast a glare at him, but he didn't see it. "If water is harder, what's easier then? Like, your main go-to?"

Leah looked back up toward camp, way back behind her, and then turned back to Percy. "Didn't you feel it in the arena? It's earthquakes. They're as easy as stomping on the ground for me. Usually they're small, but I can control how big or how bad they are."

He perked up, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "Really? Man, that sounds super cool. The biggest problem I have is that if I'm underground or something, it's way harder to try and draw water to you, y'know? Like, above ground it's easier to sense."

Shrugging, Leah laid back in the water after a second of focusing on it. She floated a little on the water and her hair stayed dry, as it should.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been really underground. The closest I've been to it is like those sections of a zoo they have lower than most. Even then, I didn't stick around too long. I hate zoos."

Percy followed suit, laying down in the water. "Oh yea, I get you. I've had bad experiences with zoos before, it doesn't stick too well. Fish in captivity." He scowled up at the sky, mainly at nothing. Leah nodded in agreement, humming a little.

"It's the worst. I don't eat fish either, it feels so wrong," Leah said. "I've been inching really close to being a vegetarian too,"

Percy laughed again. He was doing that a lot now. "I don't think I could ever give up on steak and hamburgers, but that's all you."

This time, Leah laughed, shaking her head a bit as she did. "It'll take some work, but if I end up doing it, I'll manage."

"I envy you for that, Leah." Percy replied, and they fell silent. It was weird hearing him say her name, but it felt right. He was her...brother, after all. Like Percy had said, it felt weird to suddenly have a sibling after going so long without having one. Sure, one was Greek and the other Roman, but they were still related the same on the godly side.

"Can I ask you something?" Leah asked, completely out of the blue.

"Hm?" Percy asked, turning as much he could to look at her. The water they were laying in obscured his vision slightly, but not much.

"What about Nico?" She asked, turning to look at him. Her hair was floating out in the water around her head like an octopus. "Who''s his godly parent?"

Percy sat up and looked over at the Big House. Water was running down his back and dripping right back into the water.

"Hades," He said without looking back at her. "I've had a few bad experiences with him, but Nico's a good guy. You uneasy about him?"

Leah shivered, sitting up. The tips of her hair were wet again as her focus left her. "Sort of. I guess Hades makes sense, though. He's intimidating."

He nodded in agreement. "He's been through a lot," Shaking his head, he looked back out at the ocean. "You'll warm up to him, though."

She wasn't so sure of that, but Leah nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest once more. Usually sitting in the sea made her feel better, but tonight her mind was much too clouded over for it to have it's usual effect. Still lodged deep into her head, Nico's threat hovered over her like a cloud, just waiting to start raining and shooting lighting down onto her. That, and the prophecy from the Grove of Dodona. Even now, it was a pain to remember.

 _Leah Vasquez, a child of Rome_ , It was definitely, without a doubt, about her then.

 _Who sets off to travel, but never alone,_ She didn't understand that part yet. She had planned to leave Camp and take her quest alone.

 _Her father's creation,_ Neptune, or Poseidon, had created a lot of things. That was confusing as well.

 _Escaping damnation,_ Leah always loved getting away from damnation. Might as well become a pastime.

 _And destined never to roam,_ She had an idea of what that meant, and she hoped that she was right.

Sighing, she stood up out of the water and stretched. The water began to pool away from her clothes, draining back into the ocean, She couldn't control it enough to get it out of her hair, though. Groaning, she whipped her hair over her shoulder and began to manually wring it out.

Percy looked up at her, an eyebrow raised.

"You done already?" He asked, lying back into the water again. Leah nodded, squeezing and twisting her hair and pulling more water out.

"It's not doing much for me right now," She admitted, stepping out of the water and into the sand. "Plus, I want to talk to Chiron. There are some things that aren't adding up in my head."

Her half-brother nodded, as if he understood her situation perfectly. Though, honestly, she wouldn't doubt that he actually did. Leah pulled her boots back on and began to walk away. As she did, Percy sat up to wave, a smile on his face.

Leah found herself smiling as well, waving as she walked back toward the Big House. He didn't seem to take their duel to the heart, thankfully. At the time, Leah assumed she would, but over time she'd forgotten it and had stopped caring. Percy was a great fighter, she saw that much and felt it too. But, she went in with an advantage by having a spear with extra reach. It's why she'd started fighting with a spear in the first place; because it was clearly the better choice in a fight. It was logical, and that's how she saw it. That's all that mattered.

* * *

Once Leah got to the Big House, she peaked into the infirmary first. Will and Ben were no longer there, working on Miranda's arm. Now, she was asleep in her bed, both medics gone from the room. Leah stood in the doorway, a frown on her face, before she walked away to find Chiron.

He was seated in his wheel chair in the main room, where a stuffed leopard head was hung against the wall. Leah was surprised when it jumped out and snarled at her. Luckily though, it was hung on the wall and it couldn't reach her. Still, though, it didn't make her any less cautious.

Seated in his chair with a book in his lap, Chiron sat up to face her as she walked in.

"Leah. To what do I owe the honor?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and sat down in an armchair as far away from the leopard head as possible. Chiron saw her glance over and put on an amused smile.

"Oh, that's Seymour. He's practically harmless." He said, though it didn't reassure her.

"I'm sure he is," Leah replied, almost sarcastically. She shook her head. "Listen, sir, I came to you for help. The prophecy from the Grove of Dodona has...confused me to no end. I wanted to know if you could help me understand it at all."

Chiron frowned, scratching his chin. "Prophecies are always confusing, Leah. The best I can do is attempt to push you in the proper direction."

Sighing, she nodded and crossed her legs. "If that's the best there is, I'll willingly take what you can tell me." She responded. Chiron nodded and began to roll his chair away. Confused, Leah stood up and followed him. They rolled past the infirmary, past a small room in the back of the Big House, and then they emerged into the same games room they were in earlier that day. This time, though, it wasn't empty.

Annabeth was sitting at the far end, talking in hushed voices with a few of the people Leah had seen earlier. Her long blond hair was tied back into a ponytail

A tall blond guy with blue eyes who wore glasses and a purple shirt instead of an orange one. On his forearm was a sort of tattoo, but Leah couldn't make out what it was. All she saw were black lines, and there were quite a few of them.

Next to him was a girl, with brown skin and long brown hair with braids scattered throughout it all. She wore the orange Camp shirt, and a light blue feather stuck up from behind her ear.

Across from those two sat two more in purple shirts. One was big and bulky, clearly Asian with black hair cut like he was in the military. He gave off a sort of presence, like a military commander just before a battle.

The girl next to him was much smaller, with dark skin and extremely dark and curly hair. Leah thought she could see freckles dotting her face, but the girl's eyes caught her off guard the most. They were golden in color, and it made her do a bit of a double take.

On the other side, were two more people. The first was a short, Hispanic looking kid. His hair was curly, and spread out around his head manically. He wasn't wearing an orange shirt, instead going for a pale workers shirt with suspenders over them. He had a strange look in his eyes, kind of like a mad scientist.

The girl next to him was maybe a bit taller. She had peach skin and cinnamon colored hair, braided out the same way Leah braided hers, but shorter. Instead of wearing the camp shirt, she was dressed in a white blouse with simple blue jeans. She was paying a lot of attention to the boy next to her, watching as he fiddled around with spare metal parts that he'd had in the work belt around his waist.

Across from them was the last person, a satyr. His fur was dark brown, seemingly speckled in snow. From the waist up, he was wearing a long black thermal shirt with the camp shirt over it. A set of dark wooden reed pipes were hung around his neck, and his horns poked out from atop his curly head of hair. He was currently eating a tin can.

Once she entered, they all looked up at her. Leah herself looked away, hating to be the center of attention. Chiron wheeled in past her and took his spot at the opposite head of the table, across from where Annabeth sat. He looked around the table, then raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Percy?" He asked, looking around at all of them. Most of them shrugged, or went 'I dunno' beneath their breaths. Annabeth turned around and looked out of the window before turning back and sitting down.

"He's on his way," She said, running her hands through her hair. "He was at the beach." Leah took the time to notice that her eyes were stormy gray, and a little intense when she glanced over Leah.

Chiron nodded. "Well, good. As soon as he gets here, we can begin," He turned to Leah and raised an eyebrow. "Don't be shy, now. Take a seat."

She visibly bristled, though he quickly sighed and took the seat next to the girl with the braid like her own. She turned to nod at her, and Leah nodded back, at least happy that she seemed friendly enough. Leah turned back to Chiron, though, as the others continued to talk.

"Chiron, what is this?' She asked, catching a glance from the satyr when she did. Chiron looked up at her, an eyebrow raised, before mouthing out 'Ah'.

"Oh, excuse me, Leah. I should introduce everyone," He stated. Leah was close to objecting, but he'd already started. "You've already met Annabeth. On her right side, we have Jason, Piper, Leo, and Calypso," They all waved or nodded as their names were called. "Then, on her left, we have Frank, Hazel, and Grover. All demigods and those alike, as you may have guessed, and they are our...ah..special forces, I suppose."

"Yea, special forces," Leo said, setting down the device he was working on. As soon as it left his hand, it grew little wings and soared into the air. For a moment, anyway, and then it sputtered and died, crashing back onto the table. Leo paid no attention to it. "We're like the Kung Fu masters that get called in at the end of the movie, y'know?"

Leah gave him a blank stare. She understood it, sure, she used to love watching old karate movies. _Used to_ , though. She'd stopped watching them after a while. Leo gathered up his device and went back to tinkering, muttering under his breath about 'having no sense of culture'.

Jason cleared his throat, and Leah looked back to him. Paying attention to his face for the first time, she noticed a small scar on his lip.

"What Leo means is that we're all experienced in demigod affairs," He told her, gesturing with his hands. "Say...affairs like yours. We can help."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Leah leaned back into her chair.

"I'm not saying I don't appreciate the intentions," She began, her eyes darting across everyone at the table. "But I didn't necessarily ask for the help."

Someone cleared their throat. Leah looked up to see that it was Frank, the big Asian guy.

"Well, in this weird world of ours, we kinda don't ever ask for help," He said, gesturing with his hands. "Things just kinda happen. Especially...for us, I guess."

"Frank is right," Annabeth piped in, though she looked like she didn't want to. "In the world of gods and half-bloods, we demigods tend to stick together, even if we don't want to," She glanced around the table, a small smile on her face. "That's kinda what's happened with all of us."

Sighing, Leah sunk into her chair. She began to fiddle with the tip of her braid, eyes fixed on the ping-pong table. After a moment of silence, she sighed again.

"Fine, fine," She muttered, sitting up and looking around at everyone. "I'll bite. How is any of this gonna work?"

"That part is a lot easier to explain," Piper commented, fiddling with the feather behind her ear. "You're leaving on this quest, and we're here to make sure it all goes well."

"Goes well how? It's straightforward, isn't it?" Leah leaned over the table, her head in her arms. "You guys let me leave with this prophecy in my head and I'll figure this whole thing out on my own."

Chiron tilted his head, a disappointed look in his eyes. "That simply won't work, my dear. We have rules for quests, as well."

Leah scoffed, eyes darting over at the centaur. "Rules like what?"

"For instance," Just then, Percy decided to walk into the room, a towel over his head and now wearing a camp shirt with a pair of cargo shorts. "You're limited to taking two people with you on a quest. Chiron kinda bullies you on that one."

Grover smirked, exchanging a brief high five with Percy as the son of Poseidon sat down next to him, and across from Leah.

She raised an eyebrow. "So I have to take two people with me? Why can't I just go by myself?"

Hazel looked up, and Leah had to stop herself from jumping just out of surprise.

"Three is a nice, safe number. Three Fates, three sons of Kronos, and three Furies," Her hair bounced as she looked up at her, her golden eyes meeting Leah's. "Playing around fate is hard. Appeasing it by playing safe is a lot easier."

Chiron nodded at her, a smile playing at his lips. "I couldn't have said it better myself. It's much more a safety precaution than anything, my dear."

Leah blew hair out of her face before turning to Chiron.

"So who should I take with me? Best thing I can think of is trying to even out a team of three as best as possible, but I don't know anyone here."

The centaur shrugged. "That is up to you. You yourself can fill one role, and you could spend a few days more here just to scout out potential, if you feel the need."

"Well, narrow it down first," Annabeth said, turning to Leah. "I've seen you with your spear, so you're settled on having a good fighter. Are you any good with a bow?"

Leah actually scoffed, turning to Annabeth with a half-smirk on her face. "I'm probably the worst with one, honestly."

Percy raised a hand. "I refuse to let you steal that title away from me."

The two of them stared each other down, and everyone else around the ping-pong table could see that same glint in their eyes; the one that showed just how much they were actually related.

"Being bad at things aside," Leo said, jarring them all back into conversation. "What about support? It never hurts to have a lil somethin' somethin' during a quest, y'know?" He glanced at Calypso, who punched him in the arm in return, though she was smiling.

Leah tilted her head in question. "Support how?"

Jason waved his hand through the air. "You know, like knowledge in general. Someone who knows the area of where you're going, who knows monsters, or who just knows anything medical."

The others around the table nodded and murmured agreement. Grover finally spoke up. "You'd be surprised how many people know nothing about healing magic or medical procedures at all." He looked at Leah with eyebrows raised. Bashful and embarrassed, she looked away. Mere seconds later, though, she looked back up.

"Oh, first idea for someone to take then," She said. Everyone turned to look at her, and Leah realized just how much she _hated_ being the center of attention. "Ben. I saw him earlier in the infirmary, helping Will out with Miranda's Myrmeke wound," She quickly realized what she was addressing and held a hand up. "Sorry bout that, by the way."

Frank waved her off. "No one blames you for that, Leah," She flashed him a thankful smile and he kept going. "That said, Ben is a solid choice. I-I honestly don't talk to him much, regrettably, but Percy and Annabeth tell us he's a good guy."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Him being a pacifist would make the quest a bit difficult."

"But he fights monsters, right?" Hazel asked.

"He fights monsters, yea, but not other people," Percy replied. He'd procured a bottle of water from...somewhere. "Sometimes, though, the people are the ones you have to fight."

Piper shivered. "Ain't that the truth. Still though, he's as good as Will when it comes to being a medic. That's a safe bet."

Leah nodded, visibly a bit more perked up about the quest now. "Alright, cool. What about the last slot, though?"

Jason was the one to shrug and answer. "It's all up to you, really. Stick around camp for a bit and decide if you want."

Chiron sat up and nodded. "I'd suggest you stay for at least a week, if it's not too much for you."

Shaking her head, Leah sat up from where she was laying on the table. "I appreciate the invitation, Chiron. Honestly, I...I don't trust staying for so long. I have work that I need to do, but I wouldn't mind getting used to this place before I go."

The old centaur smiled, giving her a quaint nod. "Whatever works for you, my dear. I wish to talk later about whatever it was bothering you today, if you're uncomfortable sharing it in front of a group of people you've just met."

Leo laughed, but Calypso punched him in the arm again. It didn't stop her from smiling back, however. This time, Leah smiled in turn. The prophecy from the Grove of Dodona came rushing back to her, and her smile fell immediately.

"M-maybe later, Chiron. I'm not sure I want to think about it too soon."

"Understandable," He then turned to Percy, who'd been building a tower out of extra tin cans that Grover had in his bag. the satyr was helping him, and the both of them were snickering loudly. Apparently something was written on the cans, but Leah couldn't see it. "Percy. While Leah is here with us, she'll be staying in the Poseidon cabin alongside you. Do you want to give her the tour?"

Percy's head whipped up to meet Chiron's gaze. For a moment, it seemed like he'd argue against it, like Leah suspected he would. After a moment, though, he gave a crooked smile and nodded.

"Will do. It'll be nice sharing the cabin with someone while Tyson is away." He commented.

Leo sat up from the table, dropping what he was fiddling with once again.

"What, you mean aside from Annabeth?" He asked. Annabeth shot him a glare, but it didn't stop the blood from rushing to her face.

"Shut it, Valdez," She stood up, and Leo jumped reflexively. Luckily, she didn't really do anything. Instead, she turned to Leah, who jumped in surprise. "I have a few extra clothes, if you want them."

Leah hesitated, but slowly she nodded. "If it's not too much trouble, sure. I wouldn't mind." Leah thought she saw the ghost of a smile on Annabeth's face. Just then, Jason clapped and stood up from the table.

"Well, it seems our little convergence is over for now then," Piper stood up alongside them, and Leah pulled herself out of her chair. "Frank, Hazel and I will be here for another week or two, so maybe we can help you out if you need it, Leah. Other than that, I'd say just enjoy your time here before you go."

She nodded in return. In truth, she had no idea what she'd do the entire week. Most of it would probably be training, and trying to find a third member for the quest.

The others began to stand and make their way out of the games room. Leah backed herself into the corner to avoid being in their way, and they all nodded at her on the way out. Once they were gone, only Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were still in the room. Chiron nodded at each of them one after the other, and then wheeled himself out.

Percy turned to look at Leah, raising an eyebrow.

"You ready to see the cabin?" He asked. She tilted her head, thinking about it, before nodding.

"Yea, sure. Let's get going."

* * *

Grover and Annabeth followed them to the cabin, mostly talking to Percy, but interjecting with questions aimed at Leah.

"So where are you from?" Grover asked her. Leah looked up at him, since they were all taller than her, and shrugged.

"Born and raised in Georgia," She replied, smiling a bit. "I've never lived anywhere close to the city, though."

Annabeth nodded, turning to look back at her. "You came all the way from Georgia on a horse?" Leah nodded. "In a _week_?"

Leah shrugged. "Chestnut's always been a good horse. My mom and I kept a stable with a few of them at our house, just outside of Savannah," Leah wrapped her hands around her arms, though it wasn't particularly cold. "He was always my favorite. Wh-when I needed to get away, he was there for me. I-I don't think I ever realized how fast he could run, but after a day or two we were already in North Carolina."

Grover nodded along, chewing on a tin can he'd pulled from his bag.

"Animals can be amazing. Humans don't see that enough," He stuffed the half-eaten can back into his bag and raised an eyebrow at her. "But in a week? That's more ridiculous than usual."

"Maybe it's because Poseidon invented horses," Percy called out. He turned back to look at Leah. "Have you ever been able to talk to horses?"

She raised her eyebrows in question. "Talk to horses? No, never. I've talked to fish before, but not horses. Can you talk to horses?"

Percy nodded, though he didn't really look like he was gloating. "It's a gift, I guess. It's weird that you can't, though."

"Well, it's like you said. Poseidon invented horses. Not Neptune," Leah pointed out. Percy looked down at her. "Just like how I can't control water as well. It seems like it's kinda split down the middle."

He thought about that for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yea, that makes sense. It's like Jason and Thalia." He looked over to Grover and Annabeth, who nodded in agreement as well.

"Thalia is more focused on the lightning aspect of Zeus's power, while Jason is more centered on the sky part." Annabeth agreed. Leah's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Jason is a son of Zeus?" She asked. Grover shook his head in response, chewing on the rest of the can he'd put back into his bag, and then swallowed.

"Son of Jupiter. Thalia, our friend and Lady Artemis's lieutenant, is a daughter of Zeus," He clarified. "And Nico is a son of Hades while Hazel, the girl you met before with the golden eyes, is a daughter of Pluto. It's split down the middle with everyone, now that you're here."

Leah looked down at the ground, and properly ran into Percy's back as he stopped walked. She stumbled a bit, only to look up at him as he looked back and down at her, an eyebrow raised.

"S-sorry," Then she looked up. They were standing in front of the low gray cabin she'd seen earlier that night, when she'd gone to the beach. "This is it, then?"

He nodded and opened the door, stepping inside. Leah followed, then turned around to see Grover and Annabeth standing outside. She gave them a questioning look, and Annabeth met her with an answer.

"Campers aren't really supposed to be other camper's cabins," She explained. Leah mouthed out 'oh' and Annabeth continued. "It's kinda against camp rules. Though Percy has broken it enough that it barely matters anymore."

"Hey, you broke it just as much as I have," He called back, barely looking as he prepared one of the six bunk beds flanking the door, three on the right and three on the left. One of the bunks on the right seemed to be in use, the one at the bottom having drawings on the wall next to it, and the top bunk having a picture of Annabeth taped to the wall. The top bunk was clearly Percy's, and the bottom one must have been Tyson's, whoever that was. The bunk that Percy was putting together was the first one on the left, and he was just making sure the pillows were fine and that the bed was mostly made on both bunks. Once he was finished, he turned back around and did an exaggerated bow. He stood up again with a crooked smile on his face.

"Bunk's done. Dunno if you'll wanna take the top or the bottom one, but I just made sure both were good." He told her. She nodded her thanks and looked back at Grover and Annabeth, who were just getting ready to leave. Annabeth nodded in her direction.

"I'll make sure to bring those shirts by tomorrow morning, Leah," She told her. "And I wouldn't mind helping you with anything if you need it."

Leah smiled appreciatively and nodded. "Thanks, Annabeth. I appreciate it."

Grover and Annabeth began to walk off, and Percy nodded to Leah. "You good here? I'll head out for a bit, but I'll be back in a bit." She smiled and nodded.

"I'm good, Percy. I'll see you in the morning." She replied. He nodded and headed out after Grover and Annabeth, shutting the door behind him. Sighing, Leah walked over to the bunk that Percy had 'prepared' for her and jumped up onto the top bunk. The sheets were silk, and they felt smooth in her hand. Caved into the wall next to each bunk was a small cubby to hold things. Looking back at the other two bunks, she saw they had them as well. Currently, Leah didn't really have much to put there

She dug around in her pockets just to see. She had her wallet in her back pocket, the only thing she'd really been able to keep from home. It wasn't anything special, just black leather with a small gray symbol in the middle. She didn't like the huge purses that most girl's she knew at home bought, so she'd just bought a man's wallet instead. Setting it on the cubby shelf, she dug around in her pockets some more.

The pearl came out first, and she immediately sat it next to her wallet. It didn't roll; it never really did. Aside from that, she had the roll of gauze that Ben had given her, and a small folded piece of paper. Leah set both of them on the cubby and jumped back down onto the floor. She was tired, in all honesty, and the day had been long and much too eventful. Slipping off her boots, and setting them next to the bottom of the bunk, she walked over to the windows on the other side of the cabin. All of them faced toward the ocean, and staring out she could see the calming waves lapping back and forth on the sand.

"Dad..." She whispered into her own arm. Leah had never talk to him, but she'd seen him once. She could never really remember what he'd looked like, just that he was tall and that he radiated power. The only other thing she remembered was hearing his voice, just before she'd left Georgia with Chestnut. ' _Go, Leah. To Camp Half-Blood, Long Island_ ' was all he'd said to her. She'd taken it as an omen and was gone within the minute.

Sighing, Leah pulled herself away from the window and walked back over to her bunk. After a moment of thought, she unbraided her hair and tossed the hair tie into her cubby. Then, shutting off the lights, she stripped down to her underwear and folded up her clothes, which she stuffed into her cubby as well, and tucked herself in. Hopefully Percy would obey her privacy as much as possible.

Staring up at the ceiling, Leah let her thoughts wander around in her head as she drifted off to sleep, only to be met with dreams like the one's she'd had when she had first left Georgia.

* * *

It was almost like a flashback.

A day after she'd first left Georgia, Leah was riding Chestnut through a long, open field of lush green grass and flowers. It was raining, the pounding of the rain and the thunder echoing in her ears. Her spear was in her left hand, she was ambidextrous but holding the reins with her right hand was always easier, and her face was beaded with sweat. Thankfully, with the rain, it was barely noticeable. What _was_ noticeable was the long cut across her forehead. Blood dripped down her face, over her left eye, and left her nearly blind. The rain fell faster than her blood, so it washed itself away mostly, but it was annoying.

Chestnut's breathing was labored and he was nearly foaming at the mouth from exhaustion. She'd been pushing him for nearly the entire day, and he was beginning to slow down. Leah knew if she didn't stop soon, he could die from the lack of rest. Unfortunately, rest was not a luxury they had access to.

Bursting through the treeline behind her was an array of monsters that she'd never seen. Giant black mastiffs with glowing red eyes, Snake women with long tails instead of legs. Simple skeletons, clad in a collage of different clothing and with a range of weapons, all of which could hurt both Leah and Chestnut.

Behind the monsters, still dark in the treeline, was the outline of a woman. Her silhouette reminded Leah of a _dracaenae_ , but taller and much more terrifying. Long hair flowed out behind her as the wind from the storm swayed back toward her, but it did nothing. She merely stood in the shadows and watched as Leah was forced to dismount Chestnut and turn back to fight.

Tears swelled in the corners of her eyes, but she brandished her spear and charged into battle, putting as much distance between her and Chestnut as possible. The rain was an annoyance, but today it would help her, like all water would.

Her dream changed, and suddenly it was several days later.

Leah had crossed into Maryland, where there was less open space for her to ride Chestnut. She'd managed to procure some mortal cash and had Chestnut stored away for the day. She was out exploring the city, trying to find directions to New York.

Monsters were all around, she could smell them. But in the daylight, nothing attacked her. Everything seemed to be lying in wait until nightfall, which was just a few hours away, meaning Leah was in a rush.

Finally, a random man told her which tunnel would take her directly to New York. From there, though, she'd have to find her way to Camp Half-Blood. She thanked the man as much as she could without sounding too weird about it and she just about ran through the city on her way to get Chestnut and leave as fast as possible.

On her way back to the shelter where she'd left him, Leah could _fee_ _l_ the monsters growing restless. Hellhounds swiped out at her from dark alleyways, arrows fizzed through the air when she was alone on the street. She was terrified, and it was only fueling the monsters after her.

It was fairly dark by the time she'd gotten back to Chestnut. He whinnied nervously, and she immediately mounted up and rode him out of the shelter. For maybe ten minutes, it was all smooth sailing. She didn't rush Chestnut, keeping him at a simple gallop that was fast enough until they encountered anything.

As soon as they met the highway, they were attacked. Leah heard a horrible hiss coming from the trees, and a chill ran down her spine. A long, slimy tentacle-like thing swiped out at her from the trees. In an instant, her spear was in her hand and she swiped out at it in a wide arc. It retreated into the treeline, but then the monsters came out.

Hellhounds, _dracaenae_ , skeletons, and a few cyclopes armed with boulders and clubs. Leah, scared out of her mind, reared Chestnut up with her heels and the horse took off. Hellhounds gave pursuit and, looking back, Leah saw the same silhouette of the large _dracaenae_ -like woman in the trees. She looked like she was...laughing. Leah didn't give her another glance, and she was gone as fast as Chestnut could run. Over the days, as they ran, he seemed to get faster and faster. Leah was thankful, and she didn't question it.

As Chestnut bound onto the highway, re-directing traffic and dashing in front of cars, Leah ducked as the horse ran through the long tunnel on the sidelines of traffic. The roars of monsters followed her as she and Chestnut ran away, but she wouldn't be looking back. No, she absolutely _refused_ to look back.

* * *

Leah awoke with a start, gasping out loud and sweating as her memories caught up with her.

Sunlight streamed through the windows of the cabin, reflecting off of the abalone walls and catching her in the eye. Mumbling her discomfort, Leah checked to make sure Percy wasn't in the cabin -he wasn't- before she sat up in bed and looked around. It took a bit for her eyes to focus, but once they did she saw a few things.

On the bunk below hers, were two piles of clothes. One was shirts, all orange camp shirts in different styles, and the other was pants and shorts. Leah didn't like wearing shorts, as when she was younger the kids at her old school always pointed out how muscular her legs were and it made her uncomfortable, so she settled with pants most of the time.

Jumping down from her bunk, Leah quickly picked out a change of clothes, a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved camp shirt. The only shoes she had were her boots, and that was alright.

Figuring she needed a shower, Leah put on her clothes from the day before and began smoothing out her hair with her hands. As she was working, there was a knock on the cabin door. Rolling her eyes, Leah simply called out; "Come in!"

There was a moment of hesitation before the door slowly pushed itself open. Annabeth was standing out front with a basket full of shower materials in it. She was wearing blue jeans, simple white running shoes, and a tank-top variant of the camp shirt, like the one Leah had fought in the day before. Her hair was let down, cascading over her shoulders, and her gray eyes scanned over the whole cabin.

"Hey, morning," Annabeth said, standing in the doorway. "I was bringing you some things that you'd need here, clothes and shower things. I figured it'd make it a bit easier if you had it all off the bat."

"Good morning," Leah responded, still sifting through her hair. She gestured for Annabeth to come in, and she did just that, leaving the door ajar as she came in and stood next to the bunk. "Thanks a bunch, Annabeth. I..really don't know how anything handles here. I'm lucky to have you helping me out."

Annabeth smiled, and Leah made a note to change her opinion on the daughter of Athena. She was nice.

"Well, I hope I can help you then," She replied, setting the basket down on the bunk where Leah was sitting. "Usually we have schedules and stuff to abide by, but since it's your first day here, Chiron has given you some leeway. He did ask you to meet him in the arena when you woke up, though."

Leah raised an eyebrow. "In the arena? What for?" She asked. Annabeth simply shrugged, tilting ever so slightly.

"Beats me. Chiron has a second, third, and a fourth agenda for almost everything he does," Annabeth told her. Leah giggled at that. "Anyway, I'll leave you alone for now so you can get yourself ready, and I'll see you later, alright?"

Nodding and throwing her hair back over her shoulder, Leah smiled. "Yep, sure. I'll try to make this as fast as possible so that I don't disappoint Chiron," She stood up, picking up the bath supplies and her change of clothes. "See you, Annabeth."

The blonde smiled and waved as she walked off. Her walk turned into a jog, and Leah watched as she ran into a silver cabin, most likely the Athena one, and closed the door. After that, Leah shut the door to the Poseidon cabin behind her and made her way to the bathrooms. It was high time she started off her day.

* * *

 **As of now, when I'm posting this, I've finally read The Dark Prophecy, so I'm sort of up to date on things as is in the series. That being said, I have to let you guys know that I won't be involving Apollo/Lester or Meg in this story, because I have no idea what will become of them. By the chance that this story is still going by the time the third book comes out, I'll make sure things happen as accurately as possible.**

 **If you enjoyed the story, make sure you tell me and leave a review. Anything, no matter how long or short, is appreciated. Tell me what I can do better, or what you think.**

 **That's all for today, and maybe for a while.**

 **Stay tuned, Dantikat out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**LEAH V.**

* * *

 **The showers were just what Leah would expect from a sort of country-esque summer camp.**

They were simple and didn't require much thinking. Thankfully, they were also clean, so Leah made short work of her shower, making sure to drop her previous clothes back on her bunk in the cabin, and then she quickly made her way toward the arena where Chiron was supposedly waiting for her.

On her way there, several campers stopped and stared. Some whispered amongst themselves or to their friends, and then kept on their way. Some looked back as they were walking away.

Leah did the only smart thing and refused to give any of them the time of day or even a belief of recognition. She threw her braid over her shoulder and kept her eyes forward. It was what her mom had always told her to do, and she'd kept it in the back of her head since she was a child. It didn't hurt her any to do it then, and it definitely didn't hurt her now.

She finally stepped into the arena. The damage caused from yesterday was all repaired, even down to the meticulous details in each box that Leah had smashed on her way out. A part of her was upset and sorry for what she'd done, though she wouldn't admit to it. It was in the past, and it was done.

A sword fighting class was in progress as Leah walked in. Most of the campers didn't notice her and didn't pay attention. One or two turned to gape at her, as if she was a celebrity of some sort(which she technically was), only to be barked at by the instructor. With a start, Leah realized that Percy was the instructor. The class was about twenty students in all, and they were grouped together in pairs of two. Percy walked back and forth, correcting stances, answering questions, or handing out advice to anyone who needed it, though occasionally he yelled out among the entire group.

"Switch roles!" He called. There was a collective groan throughout the class, which Leah thought was a little funny, but they followed his words to a T. Now, the other kid in each pair was attacking while the other was defending. By Leah's own standards, most of them were decent, some were really good, and one or two needed a lot more work. In a fight against most monsters, she was sure they could handle their own. Against some of the smarter ones, or even other people, though, and they would be decimated.

Keeping those thoughts to herself, Leah quickly made her way over to Chiron, who was standing off against the wall of the arena, the same way he'd stood off when she had fought Percy. The old centaur noticed her before she made it to him, smiled, and issued her over.

Once she actually got over to him, Chiron was silent for a moment, watching the class take place. Leah decided to follow suit and watched as well. Percy was caught up in showing a kid the proper stance for offense, helping him hold his sword, and all that noise. The kid kept complaining-his sword was too heavy, the armor was uncomfortable, he didn't like holding a shield-but Percy was patient with him. Leah could admire that, remembering how much she complained when she was younger too.

Percy glanced up at Chiron and saw Leah. Casting her a smile, he pulled away from the kid to call out to the entire class.

"Class! Practice your stances, your balance, anything you aren't good at! If you're caught slacking, that's a lap around the entire arena!" He yelled. Several of the kids complained, but others nodded enthusiastically and moved away to do whatever. Watching over them for a moment, he nodded before turning around and dashing over to where Leah and Chiron stood.

"Percy, good teaching as always," Chiron complemented. Percy smiled, nodding. "Would you mind taking the advanced class after this too?"

Shaking his head, Percy shoved his hands into his pocket. "I've got nothing better to do this morning. Come afternoon, though, and I'm stacked," He glanced over at Leah, smiling. She smiled back. "Morning. Had a good nights rest?"

Leah hesitated, her dreams rushing back to her. Percy spoke like he'd assumed she'd dream like he'd experienced it all before. Despite her thoughts, she didn't let it show and nodded.

"Yeah, the cabin is nice," She responded. "It's pretty comfortable in there."

He nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Have you gotten like a schedule or something? Y'know, like activities to do while you're here?"

She shook her head. "No, Annabeth said something like that too," She looked up at Chiron, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you called me in?"

Chiron shook his head, his tail swathing through the air behind him. "Not exactly. I wanted to say that I wasn't planning on giving you a schedule. The classes we have here, be they regular or advanced, should not apply to you as it is. Regardless, if you want to join a class in progress, you're free to do so. I want your focus for the week to be finding a third for your quest and getting situated with what you know and what you don't so that when you leave on your quest, you have the knowledge you need to be prepared."

Leah gaped at him, unsure of what to say. Taking a deep breath, she smiled up at him.

"W-well, thanks, Chiron. I wouldn't really know what to do, s-so I guess I'll just roam around the camp for now," She looked over at Percy, who had stepped back to yell out instructions to his class again. "Maybe I'll just follow someone around. Like Ben, if I can find him."

The old centaur nodded, trotting back and forth in place. "Ben is usually out in the strawberry fields, or at the Big House in his room. He meditates mostly through the day, but he will be part of the advanced sword training class later on this afternoon. If you can't find him by then, I suggest just coming back to the arena."

She nodded, already messing around with her own personal schedule in her head.

"Okay, that's good. There's an archery field too, right?" She asked. Chiron nodded. "Okay, I plan to stick around there for most of the week. I suck at archery, and I don't know about Ben, but it'd be good to have a balanced team."

Chiron nodded along, his arms crossed over his chest. "It seems you have thought all of this out, Leah."

With a slight blush running across her face, Leah nodded again. "W-well yeah, I kinda have to. It's an important matter."

Smiling in agreement, he gestured out toward the rest of the camp.

"Then do with your time what you see fit. Today is Wednesday, and things change around depending on the day or so. Get accustomed to it all." With that, Chiron turned and trotted out of the arena. Leah saw him take a hard bank to the right of the entrance, and then he was gone. She was left in her thoughts for a moment before Percy came back over.

"Hey," He said calmly, gesturing toward the trail of dust Chiron had left in his wake. "You decided on what you gonna do?" He asked her. Honestly, Leah shrugged.

"Not exactly. I've got like a clear basis of a plan, but I dunno what I'll do right now." She replied. He nodded, seemingly understanding, before pointing out of the arena.

"Best thing I can think of is to just walk around and see what's going on. You'll find something eventually." He told her. Definitely not a clear plan, but she didn't have much else of an idea on what to do.

Leah began to back track out of the arena, waving off Percy as she did.

"Sounds like something, I guess," She told him. He shrugged, a glimpse of that crooked smile both of them often wore falling over his face. "I'll see you later, Percy."

"See ya, Leah." He replied as she turned around and walked out completely. Turning back to his class, he noticed that a pair was missing. Scouring around the arena, Percy spotted them way back behind the higher seats at the end of the arena. He already knew who it was, too.

"Jaina, Roland, that's an extra two laps for both of you!" He called out to them. The two kids perked up at his voice and immediately groaned before lugging themselves back toward the main group. Smiling, he turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, let's start endurance training." Another collective groan sounded out, but they listened and lessons were back on as normal.

* * *

It wasn't very hard to find the strawberry fields, seeing as they took up a good portion of the front of the camp. Getting there, though, Leah realized just how large they actually were. The sheer size would make it difficult to find Ben, but she was confident, in some aspect, that she could find him. After all, there weren't many people in the fields this time of day. She could count on both hands the total amount of heads that she could see so far, so it definitely wouldn't take long. At least, that was the hope.

She started off slowly. A couple campers were in the fields, closest to where she was, and she'd asked them for help first. The first two were skeptical to talk to her, and once she'd walked away she heard them whispering behind her. Rolling her eyes, Leah simply moved on to the next camper. He wasn't exactly eager to talk to her either, but he pointed her in a direction, hopefully leading somewhere.

"Thank you!" She called back to him as she ran off in said direction. He nodded after her a knelt back down to pick more strawberries.

The sun was beginning to bear down on Leah as she walked along. Wishing she'd dropped her losses and put on shorts, she kept moving forward; until she hit a snag in the road. That snag, though, was a person laying in the fields.

Luckily she saw him before she walked over and stepped on him, and she slowed to a stop just to look.

Just from looking for a moment, she could tell he was taller than her. Most people were, since she was only five foot five. He was definitely shorter than Ben, though. He was built like a runner, tall and lanky. His hair was platinum blond and, in the shining sunlight, it looked white and on fire. His skin was pale, despite him sitting in the sun, and was olive in tone.

He wore black skinny jeans and knee-high black boots that weren't tied, though the laces were short as it was anyway. He had a black belt with fake studs on it looped through his jeans, but over that he had three more just wrapped around his waist. That was confusing, no doubt.

The camp t-shirt he wore was extremely faded, to the point where the orange looked nearly pink and the black words and symbols on it were a very pale light gray. Around his neck, he wore a silver necklace with a thick pendant on the end. Engraved onto it was a closed eye. It creeped Leah out just looking at it, so she looked away.

His hands were clasped behind his head, keeping it off the ground, and his eyes were clasped shut. One leg was extended out into between the rows of strawberries and the other was kicked up over the first. The sun beat down on him, but the second Leah's shadow extended over his face, one of his eyes cracked open to look up at her. His eye was blue and cloudy, difficult to focus on, so she focused on his nose instead.

"Can I help you?" He asked her. He had some kind of accent, but she couldn't place it. It took her a moment to respond merely because she was trying to think of where he could be from.

"Oh, uh, sorry," She said, stepping back and letting the sun fall over him again. "I was looking for someone. Ben, do you know him?"

The guy shut his eye again and huffed out air. He didn't move, but he seemed to be thinking.

"Yea, yea. He should be a couple rows down from here. He moves fast, though, so you might wanna get goin'." He responded, tilting his head toward the sun once more. Leah shot up and looked out along the field. There were a few silhouettes here and there, but the closest one looked big enough to be Ben. She turned back to the kid laying down, though he couldn't see her, and nodded.

"Oh, thanks a lot!" She exclaimed before stepping over him and walking away through the rows of strawberries again. He mumbled something as she walked off, but Leah couldn't hear him and she didn't want to backtrack just to ask him what it was. Instead, she turned and walked away, her shadow falling away from him and letting the sun shine on him once again, as she made her way to the person who she assumed was Ben.

* * *

Luckily for her, it was Ben, though he was hard at work and he didn't even hear her walk up behind him.

From where she stood, a couple feet back and behind the next row of strawberries, Leah could see just how hard he'd been going. His shirt was drenched in sweat and his skin seemed to shine in the light because of how much he was sweating.

She heard him grunt, and then he pulled back to drop a handful of strawberries into one of the six baskets next to him. Four were completely full already, and the fifth was on its way there. The baskets themselves were huge, though. Clearly a lot bigger than regular ones, these were about the size of small laundry baskets.

Leah stood behind him for a minute or so before finally deciding to say something. Standing there for as long as she had, however, had made her throat go dry, and she had to clear her throat a bit. Ben heard her, his head perking up at the sound. A bit of movement, mainly his arms moving across his chest and face, and he turned around to face her.

His face was beaded with sweat, but aside from that, he looked normal. Ben smiled up at her, dropping the strawberries he had in his open palm into the half full basket before standing up, wiping his hands on his shirt. The camp shirt, a tank-top variant no doubt, was growing darker and darker the more he sweat, and the bottom was coated with a fine layer of red liquid. Strawberry juices, or that's what Leah suspected.

"Hey," He said, panting as he spoke. "I see you've gotten your day started." Leah nodded in response.

"Well, yeah. Chiron called me out as soon as I woke up," She told him, looking around at the fields as she spoke. "I've got a nice outline for my quest and all."

Ben nodded along, stretching now that he was finally standing up again.

"Okay, cool. Have you decided on who you're going to take?" He asked her, head tilted in question.

"Oh, right, about that," She started. "I wanted you to go with me. You're the first person who was legitimately nice to me here, and I appreciate that."

A slight blush crept onto his face, though thanks to having darker skin it was near impossible to see. Leah continued, though.

"It helps that you're as skilled as you are. Despite being the pacifist that you are, I saw what you could do when we were in the forest. That, and afterward, in the infirmary. The way both you and Will worked on Miranda, I was a bit inspired. Annabeth and the others suggested that I round my team out as best as possible, and I feel like you'd fit really well alongside me and my strengths."

There was a moment of silence where Ben simply let her words sink in. He didn't much like praise, but he had to admit that it at least felt good to hear it all coming from her.

"That's, uh...that's nice to hear and all," He reached up to rub at the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't think I deserve the praise that you're giving me. I just...try to be the best that I can be. Regardless of all of that, I'm honored you want me going with you, and I, uhm...accept your offer, Leah. I'd love to help you out, however I can."

Leah beamed, maybe a bit bigger than she'd meant to.

"You would? Wow, great. Great, that's actually...that's great. Thanks, Ben, thanks uh, a lot." A tinge of red touched her face at just how flustered she sounded. In her mind, there was no way Ben would accept. It was a dangerous quest, and she'd be surprised if anyone wanted anything to do with her after the things she'd said already.

He nodded at her, and then looked down at all the strawberries that he'd picked. He was due to have all six baskets back before his advanced sword classes, and there was no doubt that it was coming close. Looking back to Leah, he gestured towards the fruit with his hand.

"I could use a little help, just to get these things filled in time," He knelt down once again, hefting up the baskets to get them out of the way. "Mind lendin' a hand?"

Leah took note of a bit of an accent in his voice there before nodding and kneeling down next to him, sitting on her knees.

"I don't mind at all. Point me where you need me and I'll get to it." She replied, clasping her hands together as she did. Ben smiled and pointed down the line, just a bit away from where he already was.

"I can handle this bit of the line here. We'll go until the last basket is filled, alright?" He picked a strawberry as an example, dropping it into the half full basket. Leah nodded enthusiastically.

"Gotcha. Let's get this done soon, there are some classes that I want to hang around in." She replied. Without another word, Ben bent back down over the bush and began pulling away at the strawberries. Leah watched him for a moment, just to pick it up, and then she turned away to start on her own section. It was definitely harder than she thought it was, and the strawberries themselves were nearly the size of her entire palm. Maybe it was because her hands were just small, but they still definitely felt humongous. In five minutes, she'd managed to pick four. Looking back at Ben, he'd pulled out a dozen in half that time. He was experienced, she noted. She sighed, threw her braid over her shoulder, and leaned back over the bush, determined to make at least _half_ of Ben's total.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Leah barely had a fourth of the amount that Ben had. Luckily, the baskets were finally full, so she didn't have to try as much anymore. Ben told her that they now had to take the strawberries to the Big House, which she had no problem with. Ben took four of the baskets, two on each arm, and Leah extended her spear, and then hung the other two baskets on either side of the spear, which she held over her shoulders. They hefted the baskets back, dropping them by Argus, who scared the living daylights out of Leah before they left to freshen up before classes.

Afterward, both of them sat on the porch of the Big House, relaxing with drinks. Ben had a glass of lemonade, and Leah had a glass of ice water. Most of the time they sat there, they were silent. A few times, they talked about their lives. Leah had learned that Ben was from North Carolina, that he was an only child, and that he only had one uncle and three cousins. Likewise, Ben learned that Leah was from Georgia, that she had an older step-brother, and that she didn't know much about her extended family.

"So your mom never talked about her family?" Ben asked her, sipping from his glass. Since the strawberry fields, he had changed into a pair of light cargo shorts, a different tank-top camp shirt, and athletic running shoes. He had on some wooden jewelry, like a monk would wear, like beads around his neck, a few rings on his index and pinkies, and a single bracelet on his right arm. His shades were still perched atop his nose.

Leah shrugged, pushing her glass around with a stray hand. Every time a drop of water dared to fly out, she redirected it back with her finger, dropping it right back into the glass. She'd also changed, into black shorts that stuck close to her legs, a thin long-sleeved camp shirt, and her black boots. She'd made a detour to go back to her cabin to grab the roll of gauze that Ben had given her before, and now it was in her pocket alongside the pearl.

"I never really asked. I'd thought about it a lot, but I didn't say anything," She sighed, leaning back into her chair and pulling her braid back over her shoulder. "I always asked my brother, Marshall, about his dad, though. I liked hearing about him."

Ben nodded, drinking from her glass again.

"What was he like, then?" He asked. Leah raised an eyebrow and he continued. "Marshall, I mean. He was a cool brother?"

She laughed a little, letting her head fall back against the chair that she sat in.

"He was the best. Overprotective, but it was great. He didn't let our lack of blood change anything. I was always his sweet little sister and nothing would change that," She sighed again, sounding a little more dejected and sad. "I was upset when he left for college, but he always wrote to me and my mom. I kept his letters in a box in my room."

Smiling, Ben sat up from his chair. He was about to say something when someone called from across the yard, waving toward them. He was tall and lanky, though taller than the kid that Leah had walked over earlier in the strawberry fields. His hair was more vibrant, easily regular blond, and his eyes were an intense gray, not cloudy blue. Leah realized that he reminded her of Annabeth a bit. They must've been siblings.

The son of Athena quickly made his way to the porch, where both Ben and Leah turned to face him.

"Hey, Ben," He quickly turned to Leah, nodding. "Leah," Then he turned back to Ben, addressing him. "Advanced sword classes start in a couple minutes. Percy wants us all to be in there now. You comin, right?"

Mouthing out an 'Ohh', Ben nodded and stood up.

"Yeah, of course, Ian. Guess I lost track of time, then." He replied. Ian flashed him a lazy smile and shrugged.

"To each their own, Benny. I'll be waiting for you in the arena." With another nod to Leah, he turned around to jog to the arena, leaving Ben and Leah on the porch.

Ben began to stretch, groaning as his joints popped, albeit quietly. He then looked back to Leah, head tilted.

"You're still coming, right?" He asked her, leaning back against the porch railing. She pulled her head up to look at him. Her eyes were slightly lidded, tired from work that she wasn't used to.

After a moment of thought, Leah yawned and nodded.

"Yea, yea, sure. I should be looking for other people, outside of close combat specialists, for the quest, but it couldn't hurt too badly," She pulled herself out of her seat and, grabbing her glass of ice cold water, dumped it on her head. Her eyes blasted open, though she still moved with the grace of a lazy cat. 'Let's get going, Ben."

* * *

The advanced class wasn't too big, consisting of just a dozen or so of campers. They were all clearly older than the kids from the beginner's classes, and Leah was surprised to see that Nico was apart of the class. He stood near the wall, wearing all black as usual, but with his coat slung over his arm. His black sword hung at his side, and Leah wondered if she'd see him use it today.

Percy stood at the head of the arena, as he did earlier that day. His hair was wet and matted down, suggesting either sweat or he'd poured water on his head the same way that Leah did. His sword, Riptide, Leah remembered, was in his hand, and his watch, the shield one, was secured around his other wrist.

Once they got into the arena, Leah and Ben split off. Ben walked over to the weapons rack, where Ian was standing around, and struck up a conversation. Leah herself strayed towards the bleachers, where she promptly sat down just to watch. Percy saw her from a distance and waved, to which she lazily reciprocated. Quickly, he pulled his class together.

"Alright, let's get this going," He called out, clearly more lax than he was earlier. Maybe the younger kids needed a little bit more force in their lessons. "We're doing advanced sword drills and dueling today, guys, so let's get partnered up so we can start immediately."

Everyone nodded along and began pushing their way out towards their friends or so. Ben and Ian were about to partner up before Percy caught them.

"Hey, Ben, Ian, change of plans, alright?" He told them, pulling them to the side. Ian raised an eyebrow, a flick of nervousness crossing his face.

"Change of plans how, Perce?" He asked, hefting his sword up over his shoulder. It looked to be just under three feet, though it seemed unbalanced for him.

Percy pointed towards Ian. "You've been lacking lately. So I planned on partnering with you, just to help you out a bit."

Ian took on a look of ease, a lazy smile gracing his face. Ben raised an eyebrow, though.

"Wait, so what about me?" He asked, sticking his own sword into the dirt. It wasn't the same one he'd had in the forest, but it was fairly identical.

Percy smiled mischievously. "I didn't forget about you, Ben. You're good where you are on this stuff, so I thought you could handle a bit more."

At his call, Nico stepped out of the shadows, hanging his coat on a peg in the wall that Leah hadn't seen before. He walked over, standing at Ben's side and nodding toward Percy.

"Nico's going to be your partner today," He stated matter-of-factly. "He's one of our best, so I'm sure you'll be pushed further than before."

Ben looked nervous, and Leah was sure he'd say something against it. Instead, though, he sighed and nodded.

"Sure then, I guess...," He looked toward Nico, rubbing the back of his neck as he did. "Keep it clean?" He asked. Nico grinned and nodded.

"I wouldn't fight any other way." He stated calmly before turning and stepping back to an empty section of the arena. A lot of the others had already started, seemingly knowing exactly what techniques they'd be going over. Leah spotted some incredible moves, like twisting and using the point of the sword to disarm people. She herself wasn't that good with a sword, she was a spearwoman by trade, so she could respect it.

Still, watching a sword fighting class wasn't of top priority. She'd wanted to see just how good the rest of the camp was. She'd witness some level of skill from Ben, and she'd experienced how good Percy was. He was the top dog, though, from what she'd heard. He was the best sword fighter at the camp, and if the rest were at least close to his level, Leah would have to change her opinion of the place.

Soon, Percy and Ian moved off to practice on their own. Ian's sword was unbalanced, and Percy had to help him pick out a better one. Meanwhile, Ben and Nico had moved off and took basic stances. They were farther away now, so Leah couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could clearly see their mouths moving. She couldn't read lips, so she merely watched instead.

Suddenly, and without warning, Nico lept forward with a stab aimed at Ben's throat. Leah saw the taller boy tense up for a moment before he pulled his sword in to quickly smack the blade away. Moving with the motion of his sword, Nico spun back and slashed out across Ben's chest. Ben met it with the flat of his blade, and Leah saw him twist his wrist outward, pushing Nico's black sword back and out while also push his own inward. Nico's sword slipped out of his hand, and the point of Ben's was close to slashing out across his neck. 'This has gotta be it.' Leah thought.

Nico whipped his right arm back, letting his sword fall from his grip. Maybe he was giving up, Leah thought. Instead, though, he ducked to the right, dodging Ben's slash, and plucked his sword out of the air with his left hand. Stepping inward and putting his right foot against Ben's, Nico dipped forward and swiped upward, slicing through Ben's shirt as he frantically stepped back. The taller boy panted, the shades over his eyes gleaming in the sunlight. There was a crack in the corner of the right lens, but Ben didn't seem to notice.

Grinning, Nico swapped his sword back to his right hand, taking up a simple offensive stance. He was ambidextrous, as Leah was. Ben sighed and pulled his sword up again.

"You've got some moves, Ben. I can see that," Nico commented aloud, taking a tentative step closer. Ben stood his ground. "But you have to open your mind to your opponents and what they can do, as well. That's how you get the most out of your skills."

He jumped in again, another stab at Ben's throat. Ben followed the past and smacked the blade away, though this time he moved with his own momentum and spun, slashing out wide toward Nico's chest. With a flick of his wrist, Nico pulled his sword back and deflected the slash off the flat of his blade, sending it upward. Taking his sword with both hands, Nico sent a strong downward slash across Ben's chest. Once again, it was deflected, and Nico stepped in following the motion of his sword. He pulled up, another strong upward swipe that slashed through the front of Ben's shirt again. There was no blood, so the sword hadn't nicked him, but it was dangerously close.

Refusing to stagger, Ben stepped in again, using his height advantage to block Nico's sight. The smaller boy squinted, completely covered in Ben's taller shadow. The hairs on the back of Leah's neck stood up as Ben brought his sword down with both hands. She flinched a little, only to see that Ben's shadow had risen up out of the ground. It was solid, like a wall, and Ben's sword was stuck in it.

The son of Hades quickly rounded the dark wall, slashing out across Ben's face. The wall dropped as he did so, but Ben was hunched over, staggered. He was forced to let go of his sword or lose his nose, and in the end, he let go. The black blade swiped across Ben's shades, slicing them in half as Ben fell backward onto his back. Leah thought she saw a flash of orange, maybe blood in the sunlight, before Ben's hand came up to cover his eyes.

Nico stuck his sword in the ground immediately and knelt down at Ben's side. Practices around them were still going on as normal, but Percy squinted in their direction, just to be safe.

Ben sat up, his hand still over his eyes, and spoke to Nico quietly. As far as Leah could see, there was no blood. Maybe the sunlight had bounced off a shard of his shades weirdly, but Leah was curious.

Slowly, she stood up from where she was sitting and quickly walked her way over. Nico was still knelt by Ben's side, talking in low voices, but as he saw her, he quieted down. Ben had dropped his hand so that it was only covering his right eye. There was a slight slash through the corner of his left eyebrow, but his eyes themselves seemed fine. The slashes through his shirt were thin; they hadn't done much at all.

Squatting down next to Nico, despite herself, Leah tilted her head.

"You good, Ben?" She asked, her hands in the pockets of her shorts. They made her a bit uncomfortable, but she could deal. "I saw the fight," She glanced at Nico with a nod. "You're good."

He shrugged, directing his attention back to Ben. "I practice more often than not. Never hurts to be prepared." He responded. One hand was on Ben's shoulder, just for support.

The taller boy sighed and sat up, dropping his hand completely. There was a slight nick next to his eye, much too small to be from the sword, Leah assumed.

"I think a shard of glass from my shades hit me," Ben stated through breaths, confirming Leah's guess. He looked up at Nico with a slight smirk. "What happened to keeping it clean?"

Shrugging again, Nico stood up, helping Ben to his feet.

"It's like I said, you have to know what your opponent can do," He stuck his hands in his pockets. It didn't look like he'd broken a sweat at all. "You've seen me bend shadows. Your height in this sunlight is better for me than it is for you."

Ben looked down at his shadow as if it'd suddenly stand up again, and sighed.

"I was thinking more tactically than personally," He said, flexing his arm to relieve some strain. "I try to keep the two separate. I don't like fighting enough as it is."

Nico nodded. "I know that much. In these drills though, you have to be able to bend your mind to the situation. Be liquid, Ben."

Cracking his neck, Ben nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I get you. Come on, let's get it started again. I'm working myself into a pattern that I need to break."

Leah sighed and started to walk away, back to the bleachers, before she noticed something on the ground. Bending over to pick it up, it looked like a large shard of Ben's shades. There was a clean cut where Nico had slashes them in half, and the front side was still whole, despite a few cracks in it. The back of the lens, however, where Ben's eye would've been, was burned and melted. It drooped a little as Leah held it, and then the heat of it reached her. She dropped it immediately and watched as it melted further, fusing into the ground a bit.

That was...weird. What would've made it melt like that? It could've been something to do with Nico's sword, but Leah wasn't so sure. Glancing back at Ben and Nico, who had stepped off to get back into stance, Leah quickly made her way back to the bleachers. She'd mull it over, but for now, she'd just watch the fights. It was a learning experience, after all.

* * *

The training went on for another hour and a half. Occasionally, the campers switched partners and went on afterward. Ben and Nico, however, remained partners for the duration of the course. They never switched, and their fight ended, in the same way, each time. Ben, on his back or on one knee on the ground, whereas Nico stood above him, barely breaking a sweat. It was funny, in a way, but Leah didn't laugh about it. Not out loud, anyway.

Ben was on his back again when Percy finally stuck his sword, after turning it back to a pen, into his pocket and then standing back in front of the whole class.

"Alright, we're done for today!" He called. Ian, who was lying on his back on the ground and drenched in sweat, cried out in relief. Most of the other campers ignored him. "I would say we'll come back day after tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow is Friday! And you all know what that means!"

There was an assortment of cheers and some groans were thrown into the mix. Leah was on her way, walking over to where Nico and Ben stood against the back wall. The son of Hades had pulled his coat back on, and as she got closer, Leah realized that the air itself was a bit cold around him. She shivered a bit but hid it well as she stopped near them. Ben was scowling, his eyes downcast.

"Ugh. I hate Fridays." He said, holding his head in his hands. Usually, that kind of talk at Leah's old school would get you socially rejected. Here at camp, though it seemed to be a popular opinion, as Nico nodded his agreement.

"It's actually the worst," Nico commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Lucky me, hiding in the dark is my specialty."

Ben groaned. "Yeah, lucky you," He finally looked up, spotting Leah, and waved a little. "Hey. You done here too?"

She nodded, tossing her braid up over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm really just exploring at this point," She responded before leaning in. "So, what happens on Friday?"

Nico leaned up off of the wall, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Capture the Flag. Happens every Friday with the whole camp practically split into two."

Leah's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Capture the flag? What's so bad about that?"

Groaning again, Ben looked up at her, pushing himself off of the wall. "You fight with real weapons and armor and all. Whatever you can get in with you, you're allowed to use. I can't really participate at all, but I'm usually roped in with the rest of my cabin."

"Oh. Oh, yeah, that kinda sucks," She responded, kicking the toe of her shoe into the dirt of the arena floor. Then she looked at Nico, an eyebrow raised. "What about you? Why don't you like it?"

The son of Hades merely shrugged, a weird smile on his face. "I just don't like participating. I have before, but I've got a feeling I won't feel like it this Friday," He ran a hand through his hair, tussling his hair even more. "With the way it's looking, the game'll be over in no time."

Leah tilted her head in question. "What do you mean by that?"

Nico looked past Leah, to where Percy was rearranging the swords on the sword rack.

"The Athena cabin and the Ares cabins are the head of the alliances right now, as they usually are," He told her, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "The Athena cabin has an ever-lasting alliance with both the Poseidon and the Hades cabins, meaning that Annabeth, me, Hazel, and Percy would all be on the same team. You too, if Chiron lets you participate."

A bit of a chill ran down her spine at the thought of that. Imagining Percy, Nico, and Annabeth all on one team was terrifying enough as it was, but she had no idea what Hazel could do. Her eyes were scary enough, but it made her shiver just thinking about it.

"What about the other cabins?" She asked, looking at Ben. "Who do the Ares cabin have on their side?"

Ben sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I know they've made a temporary alliance with both the Apollo cabin and the Demeter cabin. They'll have traps and archery on their side, but it's nothing new really," Ben shoved his hands into his pockets. "Surprisingly, they have the Hypnos cabin too, but I can't really expect too much out of them."

Leah rubbed her chin. There were lots more cabins than that, but she couldn't think of all of them at the moment.

"Zeus cabin?" She asked. Nico shook his head.

"Jason isn't technically apart of the Camp right now since he's here on official business. He doesn't get to play."

"Maybe the Hephaestus cabin then?" She asked, looking to Ben.

"They've sided with us too. I think Leo just wants to mess with Percy, though."

"Hmm...Aphrodite cabin?" She asked. Ben tilted his head in Percy's direction.

"Allianced with Athena. They don't really fight, so much as they make sure everyone else's armor is good."

"What about the Hermes cabin, then?" She asked them.

"Surprisingly, they're on the Ares Cabin's team," Ben answered. "I think Clarisse has exchanged chore duties and free time to get them on her side. They don't usually side with us."

"Hm...anyone else to worry about?" She asked, starting to actually get into the idea of it.

Ben rubbed his chin thoughtfully, crossing one arm over his chest. Nico got a faraway look in his eye before nodding.

"Kind of," He said, leaning up off of the wall. "There's the Morpheus cabin, but there's only one camper in there. He's on our side, mainly because he can't stand the Hypnos cabin."

Leah tilted her head, surprised to not have heard of him at all.

"What's he good at?" She asked, to which Nico merely shook his head in response.

"I've got no idea. I only ever see him lying around camp, doing pretty much nothing," He replied, sticking his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Chiron gets pretty upset with him, but I've still never seen him do much."

She frowned, letting her arms fall limp at her side.

"Well, that's no good." She said, losing a bit of interest. It sounded like Athena's side would win, since they had strong fighters like Percy and Nico. Then again, the Ares cabin was full of fighters, and the Hephaestus cabin could be dangerous. The thought that maybe Chiron wouldn't let her participate was clear at the forefront of her mind, though. Sighing, she waved it off.

"Well, it's whatever. I guess we wait until Friday to see, then." She commented. Nico nodded and turned to walk out of the arena, where Percy met him and they left together. Ben and Leah glanced at each other before shrugging and leaving after them. It had gotten significantly darker, but it was still only the afternoon. There were no more classes to be held after that one, so they essentially had down time until dinner, Ben told her. Ben went off to shower, and Leah decided she'd spend a bit of time watching the archery range. After all, it'd be the best choice for her quest. It made sense.

* * *

It took her longer to find than she would've wanted to admit. Thankfully, a camper pointed her in the right direction, and in a matter of minutes, she'd gotten there. The range was nothing too special to look at, so Leah didn't waste time looking at specific details. It seemed a class had just concluded, as Chiron was walking away with a group of kids, all armed with bows and quivers of arrows. They hadn't seen her, which was surprising, but she'd paid no mind to it.

There was a small patch of tall grass nearby, so Leah sat down in it. It itched her arms a little, but it was comfortable. She trained her eyes on the field and the path that lead up to it for a while. Seconds passed, then minutes, and eventually half an hour. By that point, Leah had fallen over on her back, her eyes shut, nearly asleep.

The sound of an arrow piercing the air startled her, forcing her awake. She sat up slowly, struggling to remember where she even was when another arrow flew through the air ahead of her. Her mind cleared up, and she sat forward slowly. First, she looked down the range toward the targets. They were simple circle targets, though there were a few bigger ones in the shapes of things like giants and cyclopses.

Leah almost gasped out loud, though she remembered to cover her mouth. The circle target in use had four arrows sticking out of its center. All bullseyes. She watched as another arrow whistled through the air and stuck deep into the center again. Whoever this person was, they were great with a bow. She turned to look back, only to see that whoever was shooting was cloaked in shadows. It had gotten even darker than before, making it very hard to see. She squinted, leaning slowly out of the bush to see.

She heard a sigh, then saw the figure pull back on their bow once again, watching for a moment before releasing and letting another arrow fly. Another bullseye. Leah was amazed and was getting ready to step out of the bush, only to hear a loud gong-type thing. Suddenly, the sound of a lot of doors slamming open sounded afterward.

The person at the range swore under their breath, and Leah saw them run down the range to grab all their arrows out of the target. In the dark, it was hard to make anything out. It looked like a guy, but she really couldn't tell. He was tall, wearing mostly black, and his head was covered. The quiver on his back was black too. If anything, Leah would've thought it was Nico. The problem, though, was that this guy was too tall to be Nico.

He slid all his arrows back into his quiver and then turned around to walk away. Leah couldn't see his face still, though she did catch a glimpse of something hanging around his neck, though she couldn't tell what it was. He turned and ran off, a long black coat billowing behind him as he did. Leah waited a couple minutes before getting up and dusting herself off. There were stray bits of grass in her hair and on her shirt which she promptly swept off of herself.

Looking down from where she could see, she saw a sea of campers moving off toward what she assumed was the dining pavilion. Ben had told her about it, so she assumed it must've been dinner time. Leah picked herself up as best as she could before sprinting down toward everyone, hoping she wouldn't make herself look stupid by coming in late. That'd be a bit ridiculous.

* * *

Luckily she wasn't late. Just as she neared the group, Percy came out of their cabin. He yawned, scratching the back of his neck, and walking slowly to join the flood of people. He saw her, after taking a moment to rub his eyes, and met up with her quickly.

"Hey," He said, yawning half-way through talking. "You find somethin' to do waiting for dinner?"

She yawned herself, painfully aware now that she'd fallen asleep in a bush.

"Sort of. I camped at the archery range for a bit, to see if I could find someone for the quest."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Any luck with that?"

Leah shook her head. "Not really. I got there a little late after the class ended, so I just sat there a bit longer," She didn't want to admit that she'd stayed there the entire time. "I did see someone really good, but it was dark and I couldn't see who it was. Kinda sucks."

He mimicked a stab through the heart and then shoved his hands into his pockets, casting her the same crooked grin she often wore.

"This camp is full of people. It'd be a pain to try and find whoever that was," He replied, watching as the crowd began to fill into the dining pavilion. "Did you see anything like, really obvious about them?"

Leah began to think for a moment before sighing and giving up immediately. "Nah. It was a guy, as far as I could tell. He was taller than me but shorter than Ben. He was wearing all black, quiver and everything. I couldn't make out what his bow looked like, nor could I see his face. It looked like he was wearing something around his neck, but I couldn't tell what it was."

Reaching toward his neck, Percy flicked the camp bead necklace around his neck. "Everyone wears these. That doesn't help too much."

She shook her head, subconsciously stepping around a giant scar in the ground as both her and Percy walked into the dining pavilion.

"No, not like that. It looked kinda like a chain, like a big one, y'know?" She said, following Percy and taking a seat across from him where he sat. "It wasn't a camp necklace, at the very least."

A small group of people swarmed into the pavilion after they sat down, including the kid that Leah had seen in the strawberry fields, and soon the place was buzzing with chatter. Percy shrugged, idly turning away to wave at Annabeth and the others around the place. Turning back to her, he raised an eyebrow, a concerned look on his face.

"A lot of the campers here still wear their own jewelry, Leah. It'd still be pretty hard to find em." He told her, crossing his arms over his chest. Leah sighed, slumping forward and letting her forehead touch the table.

"Ugh, this seems hopeless," She murmured into the table. Percy tilted his head to the side, looking down at her, his eyebrows knit tight.

"Don't look at it like that," He said, tapping his finger on the table. "You have like a week or two here, right? That's plenty of time."

She slowly turned her head up, looking at him through strands of her hair. She blew some of it out of the way, only for it to fall back in front of her eyes regardless. Leah sighed.

"I guess so. I've just always liked getting things out of the way as fast as possible, y'know?" Leah sits up, balancing her head on both arms. The pavilion is full now, and Chiron is up front, alongside a pot-bellied man who looks strangely out of place. He casts her a glare, but soon looked away as Grover, the satyr she'd met before, walked up to him. She sighed again. "I guess I can take it slow for now."

Percy smiled at her. "That's the spirit. Don't stress about it all. There are people here who can help you, don't forget to take that when you can."

Despite the thoughts in her head-an overlapping sense of failure, before she'd even started-she smiled and sat up fully, rubbing the back of her neck once she found there was a bit of strain there.

"You're right. I'll be here for a bit, and it never really hurts to take your time," She pulled her braid over her shoulder, running her fingers through her hair just to do something. "I'll keep as calm as possible about all this. Thanks, Percy."

Her half-brother shrugged, grinning. "No worries, Leah. It's practically what I'm here for," He glanced away from her. Food was whisking around through the air-wind spirits, Leah assumed-and Percy smiled again. "Come on. Once you get your food, we make an offering to the Gods."

Leah nodded, a plate of roast beef sliding across the table to stop in front of her. "Oh, yeah. My mom constantly made me do the same, back at home," her eyes clouded over, but in an instant, it was gone. "I'm sort of used to it."

Percy raised an eyebrow but didn't question her at all. She appreciated that and stood up, taking her plate in hand. Already, streams of campers were walking toward the roaring fire at the front of the pavilion. Leah took note that the kid from the strawberry fields hadn't gotten up. He'd already started eating. She wanted to question him, but it'd be awkward to do so.

Eventually, she stood in front of the fire, a section of her meal separated off already. Despite that, she had no idea what to say at all. She stood there for a while, thinking it over before she sighed and scraped a portion of roast beef off into the fire. She said nothing and quickly made her way back to the table where she sat with Percy. He nodded at her and left her to eat with her thoughts.


End file.
